Jean Jacques Kajuga, Chief Operating Officer of RSwitch, says the Rwanda National Digital Payment System (RNDPS) branded as eKash is enabling financial services easier to be accessible and more affordable for all Rwandans.
RSwitch was established in 2003, and the blueprint of eKash was established 2018 under the Rwanda National Digital Payment System project. Kajuga explained that eKash was created to address three main goals: improving financial inclusion, increasing access to financial services, and supporting the digitization of payments in Rwanda.
He noted that financial services are now considered an essential service, like other public utilities, and should therefore be available and affordable for everyone.
Before the introduction of eKash, many financial institutions in Rwanda had to connect with each other through bilateral agreements. This meant each bank or service provider had to negotiate its own integration with others, which made the system complicated and costly. The biggest pain point was they were financial institutions who were not able to move money between each other. This led to cash-in and cash-out and this means that a lot of money is being lost in movement.
According to Kajuga, eKash solved this problem by creating a single centralized infrastructure that connects financial institutions in one place.
“With eKash, institutions only need one integration to connect to the entire financial ecosystem,” he explained. “This allows banks, mobile money operators and other providers to send and receive money from one another easily.”
He said this system helps financial institutions reduce the cost of integration. In turn, those savings can be passed on to customers through more affordable services. eKash is basically making moving money instant, inclusive and most importantly affordable.
Kajuga also emphasized that the platform is helping smaller financial institutions participate in digital payments. In the past, many microfinance institutions, especially those operating in remote areas were often left out because integration with larger institutions was expensive and based on transaction volumes.
With eKash, every institution can connect to the national switch regardless of its size.
“A small microfinance serving just a few clients can access the same system as a large bank serving millions of people,” Kajuga said.
This allows more institutions to digitize their services and makes it easier for people in rural or underserved areas to access financial services.
Kajuga explained that the goal is to ensure that any citizen can send or receive money, make payments, or transfer funds to family members even in remote areas whenever they need to.
He also said the platform is creating opportunities for fintech startups in Rwanda and across Africa. While mobile wallets services have already built strong digital ecosystems, fintech companies sometimes face high costs when trying to access those systems.
Through eKash, fintech innovators can connect to the national payment infrastructure using open application programming interfaces (APIs) at a lower cost. This allows them to develop new financial products and services.
Security has also been a key focus in building the system. Kajuga explained that eKash includes advanced cybersecurity measures such as fraud monitoring tools and multi-factor authentication systems to protect users during transactions. Additionally, RSwitch has a 24/7 monitoring team that is always having eyes on transactions and behaviors of the technology.
Looking ahead, RSwitch is working to expand the system beyond Rwanda by enabling cross-border payments. This will allow people to make digital payments while traveling in neighboring countries.
Kajuga said the plan is to connect payment systems between countries so that a Rwandan traveling to Kenya or Tanzania can pay for goods or services directly from their bank account without needing to withdraw cash.
This approach also helps reduce the risks that come with carrying large amounts of physical money while traveling.
Kajuga said the bigger vision is to make financial services accessible to everyone in the same way other basic services are available.
“With eKash acting like a public road for financial services, institutions can build new products on top of it and make services easier and cheaper for people to use,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that awareness remains one of the main challenges. Since eKash is still relatively new, many people are not yet familiar with how it works.
RSwitch is therefore working with banks, SACCOs, MFIs, MFIs and mobile money operators to share information with the public and help users understand how to benefit from the system.
Kajuga said that as awareness grows and financial institutions continue to work together, digital payments in Rwanda will keep expanding and reaching more people across the country.
Gabriel UZABAKIRIHO – KIGALI TIMES
More awareness of how it works is needed especially by practically demonstrating it in the public like through Umuganda/communal work, being part of the agenda in cooperative gatherings, company general assemblies…name it. But so far, you are moving in the right direction!