Officials move to ease money transfer across East Africa

Information Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi (left). “We want you to be able to move money from your MPESA account here to a relative in Kigali and vice versa or from Airtel Uganda to Safaricom in Nairobi,” he said. EVANS HABIL |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Through the One Area Network Agreement, partner states last year lowered roaming rates, the focus is now on mobile money transfer rates for ease of doing business.
• “This is a bigger market, if we facilitate communication it will be better for business, whatever stands in our way must be removed,” said Mr Matiang.

By LILIAN OCHIENG
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Officials in East Africa are working to ease money transfer across the region in a move to boost trade.

Low cross border money transfer rates are set to be a reality as Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan formulate harmonised money transfer guidelines.

Through the One Area Network Agreement ICT ministers of the four countries have arranged with finance ministers and central banks to draft a proposal that is currently under discussion by individual governments.

“Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and his counterparts directed ICT ministers to ensure they have a definite position on the negotiations by the next Northern Corridor Summit. We have asked operators to negotiate an inter operator rate for the money transfer,” said ICT Cabinet secretary Fred Matiang’i at a media briefing.

The deal is likely to come through by close of 2015. It will mean international remittances between M-pesa, Airtel, and Telkom Kenya through to MTN mobile money customers in Uganda Rwanda and South Sudan.

FOCUS NOW ON MONEY TRANSFER

Through the One Area Network Agreement, partner states last year lowered roaming rates, the focus is now on mobile money transfer rates for ease of doing business.

“This is a bigger market, if we facilitate communication it will be better for business, whatever stands in our way must be removed,” said Mr Matiang’i.

“We want you to be able to move money from your M-pesa account here to a relative in Kigali and vice versa or from Airtel Uganda to Safaricom in Nairobi.”

Latest data by Central Bank of Kenya states that Kenyans transacted Sh418 billion on phone in the past two months. The deal could be a loss to regional telecommunication firms such as Safaricom who are making money across the region through international money transfer deals.

Vodafone which owns 40 per cent of Safaricom signed a deal in April giving M-pesa customers access to seven African countries.