Experts Want Rwanda to Cut Expenditure On Printing Money

Experts advise Rwanda to scale down expenditure on printing money

Rwanda has shown tremendous growth in its drive towards a cashless economy and now experts want focus on decreasing expenditure in printing notes.

With digital financial services now available 24/7 for business people to make payment transactions at the convenience of their homes or offices, financial experts have asked for more efforts in points of sale (PoS).

Rwanda spends Rwf2 billion in printing paper currency annually with notes having a life span of four months each.

“Why can’t we spend the same in installing PoS in every point of sale and exchange, markets?” 

Livingstone Nkusi, an entrepreneur, said today during a launch of ‘Rwanda’s Cashless Drive’ which brought together finance experts in government and private sector.

Banks have invested in an automated clearing house and mobile banking platforms for corporate and retailers to allow business people make real time payments.

Statistics indicate that the number of PoS and ATMs increased from 99 in 2010 to 2,031 in 2017; and from 84 to 405 ATMs in the same periods.

However, in the same drive, subscription in mobile payments increased shooting from 639,673 to 8,659,115 subscribers in the same periods.

Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana said that all stakeholders to be innovative and make good use of this Cashless Rwanda campaign.

“The campaign belongs to the rural area where 80% of Rwanda live and where 90% of new jobs are being created,” Nsengimana said.

Financial Institutions &MNOs will work together to establish an inter-operable and affordable payment infrastructure ecosystem.

The central bank said that all Rwandans must work towards taking Cashless Rwanda from 21%GDP to 80% by 2024 and enjoy convenience, security, and subsequently, easy access to credit.

The one month e-payment awareness campaign will take place across Rwanda and will be held under the theme- “Accelerating the move towards a ‘Cashless Rwanda through public–private partnership (PPP)”.

In the meantime, the Rwanda stock market index and shares index remained constant to close at 134.13 and 133.30 respectively.