The National Bank of Rwanda and other Central Banks in the Common Market for the Eastern and Southern Africa region (COMESA), are ready to set a cross border payment system to improve trade amongst the member countries.
The named Regional Payment and Settlement System (REPSS) will directly be linked to Rwanda Integrated Payment Processing System (RIPPS), which was adopted by BNR at the beginning of the year 2011.
As explained by the Governor of National Bank of Rwanda in press conference yesterday the October 3 2012, the new system will provide importers and exporters with a faster, safe and secure way to pay each other goods and services at a lower cost.
He further told the press that commercial banks in member state of COMESA will be linked to their central banks payment system but payment and other transactions will be done through central banks in the Region.
Ambassador Gatete Claver responded to journalists that the common currency to be used in COMESA is still a project under a big process.
He said for the first days of this system, the payment and other transactions will be done through US dollars and EUR.
Journalists questioned a new system as security as Cyber Crimes are nowadays at the highest level, the Governor stated that the System is to be Settled by CMS which uses swift as trustful system in the world.
The system will charge traders a lower cost in transactions compared to the usual banking system.
The BNR governor demonstrated that the new system is expected to charge 2% for the total costs instead of 5% in the usual banking payment system.
The system will be operating in 19 countries COMESA members and Tanzania to come later. Ten countries have registered in REPSS and others are in the process.
But Rwanda, Mauritus, Swaziland and Sudan are the only countries that have gone live for the system.
Despite Rwanda will benefit from facilities of this new system of payment, its traders have not yet found an interest in COMESA market.
The figure shows that Rwanda imported from COMESA in more than USD415 million while Rwanda exported around USD83 million there. Amb. Gatete said Rwandan traders’ needs to be encouraged.
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