Ericsson and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning for Rwanda have signed an agreement for the launch of a national interoperability switch based on the Ericsson M Commerce Interconnect solution.
The solution will enable financial and payments services providers in the country to connect to one common platform for real-time payment transactions. Further, the inclusion of informal sectors such as savings cooperatives and micro finance players in the ecosystem allow previously excluded citizens to participate in mainstream financial services, thereby increasing financial inclusion.
Claver Gatete, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Rwanda: “Mobile payment technology has the potential to advance financial inclusion and help people build savings while giving government, as well as the private sector, a more cost-effective, efficient, transparent and safer means of disbursing and collecting payments. We are happy to be partnering with Ericsson on this.”
Ericsson will also lead on-boarding and integration of Rwanda payment service providers and financial institutions. The Rwanda Interoperability Switch is expected to be operational by early 2017.