Uganda to Host Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) Conference

UGANDA will this week host the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) Africa Regional Conference scheduled for May 8 -10, 2012 at the Kampala Serena Hotel.

The conference under the theme 'Africa First! Fostering African growth and integration for international expansion,' is organized by SWIFT aimed at bringing together the financial community to shape market practices, define standards and consider or develop solutions to issues of mutual interest.

Mr. Elly Mwebya, the Director EDA said that SWIFT is a global co-operative of banks through which they can provide efficient and effective transfer of money from one part of the world to another.

"There will be several discussions key among which will be mobile payment systems, regional economic integration and this will be attended by the Central Bank governors of the partner states to churn a way forward," he said.

He added that the conference will also be a platform for showcasing how today's technological and business challenges can be turned into future opportunities. Over 300 delegates are expected to attend the conference.

Mwebya added that 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 carrier in the following payment systems; Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT), East African Cross Border Payment System (EAPS), Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), linkage of the Central Depository System (CDS) to the RTGS to achieve Delivery versus Payment (DVP) in government securities settlement.

By Emma Onyango
The East African Business Week
7-May-2012