EAC Begins Building Regional Instant Payment Network with Rwanda-Tanzania Pilot
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 11th November, 2025: In an innovative move set to revolutionise how people send and spend money across East Africa, Rwanda and Tanzania have commenced bi-lateral discussions on technical modalities to link their national retail payment systems switches. The move marks a crucial step toward enabling instant, low-cost cross-border money transfers for citizens and businesses across the region.
This landmark initiative, which moved into its technical implementation phase at an ongoing high-level meeting in Kigali, will connect Tanzaniaβs Instant Payment System (TIPS) with Rwandaβs National Payment Switch (RSWITCH). Once operational, the linkage will allow individuals and businesses in both countries to send and receive money between bank accounts and mobile money wallets seamlessly and in real time.
