Ezulwini- The Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) has announced having processed approximately E 788 million worth of transactions with the Eswatini Payment Switch (EPS) initiative since its inception on December 11, 2024.
This was disclosed by the deputy head of IT at CBE, Brian Sihlongoyane, at the CBE Complex in Ezulwini during the media workshop.
The State of Inclusive Instant Payments Systems (SIIPS) workshop, spearheaded by the AfricaNenda Foundation, UNECA, and the World Bank unveiled that 194 000 transactions happened within banks and mobile money services in close to a year.
“Currently, eight banks and mobile money service providers are transacting through the national payment switch, enabling real-time person-to-person transfers, including account-to-account, account-to-wallet, wallet-to-wallet, and wallet-to-account payments,” Sihlongonyane said.
He added that the next phase of this initiative will expand beyond person-to-person transactions. The roadmap includes merchant and cash ranking, domestic e-commerce enablement, physical merchant onboarding, and ATM switching, all designed to create a fully integrated national payments ecosystem.
On the contrary, the CBE acknowledged the ongoing challenges in the payments system. Among other issues the bank is currently facing is that of project governance.
Phumlani Fakudze noted that it’s quite challenging to ensure that all participants, banks, fintechs, and mobile operators, are adequately represented in decision-making at business, technical, and steering committee levels.
As Eswatini continues along this transformative path, the payment switch is poised to become the backbone of the nation’s digital economy—empowering citizens, businesses, and financial institutions with faster, safer, and more accessible payment solutions.
Discussion about this post