NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

The central banks of four East African countries are conducting a study that will set the baseline for money transfer fees across the region.

Heads of state in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan in a June directive ordered individual bank regulators to study money flows in mobile platforms and state how harmonisation of the rates could affect the flow.

"The central banks are spearheading the study to inform the provision of mobile financial services in the region," said a Northern Corridor Integration Project Summit Authority statement on Friday.

Through the One Network Area Agreement, ICT ministers of the four countries have arranged with finance ministers and central banks to review the report together once it is complete.

ICT Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i said that individual operators from the countries involved in the survey have been asked to negotiate an inter operator rate for money transfer.

The study will assess technologies applied in mobile money in respective countries, how secure it will be to harmonise the rates and have regional money transfer provisions.