Uganda to Host African Regional SWIFT Conference 2012

Uganda will host the 2012 SWIFT Africa Regional Conference (ARC) scheduled for May 8-10, 2012 at Serena Hotel, Kampala, a recent statement from Bank of Uganda has confirmed.

The conference under the theme, “Africa First! Fostering African growth and integration for international expansion,” is organized by SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) which is a member-owned cooperative through which the financial world conducts its business operations with speed, security, certainty and confidence.

Swift provides the proprietary communications platform, products and services that allow users to connect and exchange financial information securely and reliably.

In Uganda, Swift products and services have been instrumental in Bank of Uganda’s efforts to modernize payments systems in the country. Swift is used as a message carrier in the payment systems such as Electronic Fund Transfer System (EFT), East African Cross Border Payment System (EAPS), Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System, linkage of the Central Depository System (CDS) to the RTGS System to achieve Delivery versus Payment (DVP) in Government securities (Treasury bills and bonds) settlement.

The conference will bring the financial community together to shape market practices, define standards and consider or develop solutions to issues of mutual interest.

The conference will be addressed by eminent speakers including the CEO SWIFT, Mr. Lazaro Campos, Governors of Central Banks of the East African Community Member States, CEOs of Commercial Banks and Mobile Network Operators and the Head of SWIFT for Western Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mr. Christian Sarafidis, among others.

BY JULIUS BUSINGE: The Independent Newspaper
23-April-2012