Rwanda’s Growth Of Financial Messaging Traffic Surpasses That Of Africa

According to SWIFT, a provider of secure financial messaging services, Rwanda experienced strong traffic growth of 37.1 percent in comparison to the same period last year. Kenya’s financial transaction messages rose 9.4 percent year-to-date. Their growths outpaced Africa’s average of 4.4 percent.

The Belgium-headquartered organisation released the data recently during its 26th SWIFT African Regional Conference (ARC) that took place in Accra, Ghana.

“Several markets in East Africa also experienced strong traffic growth. Kenya and Rwanda saw an increase of 9.4 per cent and 37.1 per cent respectively, versus the same period in 2018,” said the firm in a statement.

“Total traffic growth in Africa has decelerated (to 4.4 per cent growth) since this time last year, when it reached 16.7 per cent.” The report has attributed this to slower economic growth in several African countries, including South Africa.

Traffic growth in South Africa specifically has slowed to 2.9 percent, down from 14.4 percent at this time last year.

Across the West African Monetary Zone, traffic increased by 29 per cent, far exceeding SWIFT’s global traffic growth of 6.7 per cent for the same period.

Head of Sub-Sahara Africa, SWIFT, Denis Kruger said, “Africa is an important market for SWIFT and a critical component of our business. Even in the face of global economic challenges, many African countries continue to outperform SWIFT’s global traffic growth.”

He added, “Africa’s financial industry is a key enabler of economic development. The SWIFT African Regional Conference is, therefore, an important platform for financial services stakeholders from across Africa to share ideas and ultimately define the future of financial services in Africa.”

SWIFT provides a network that enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial transactions in a secure, standardized and reliable environment.

Featured Image Courtesy: Wall Street Journal