Rwanda’s eKash Platform Goes Live, Connecting 22 Financial Institutions Nationwide

She made these remarks on Friday, December 5, 2025, during the official launch of eKash, an innovation developed by Rswitch, the national switch that oversees electronic payment systems. The platform aims to make it easier for citizens and financial institutions to send and receive money digitally without the need for cash withdrawals.

The ceremony brought together various stakeholders from the finance and technology sectors, including bank executives, microfinance institutions, SACCO representatives, and telecommunications companies.

Minister Ingabire highlighted that the journey toward a cashless economy started with skepticism and system fragmentation, but has since shown significant progress.

“When we began designing digital payment systems, many thought it was impossible. Payments were scattered across isolated platforms that could not communicate. We realized that achieving the Vision 2050 goals requires strong, inclusive digital infrastructure and that is how eKash was created.” She said.

She added that the system has expanded considerably and is now widely understood and adopted by the public.

“Today, 22 institutions have registered with eKash, including banks, microfinance institutions, fintechs, and telecom operators. Twenty-one of these are already operational. So far, over 47 million transactions have been completed, with a total value of 200.3 billion Rwandan francs.”

The CEO of RSwitch, Blaise Gasabira, told the media that eKash was created to provide faster, cheaper, and more secure money transfers.

“We established the first nationwide system that allows money transfers regardless of the type of institution used. Someone can make a purchase from any shop without worrying about their bank or financial service provider. These two services form the foundation of the platform.” He said.

Gasabira added that additional services are being integrated, including payments for all government services.

“Irembo services will also be accessible through eKash. Regardless of the institution or telecom line you use, you will be able to make payments directly.”

He also revealed that by January 2026, a standardized and affordable service charge will be introduced to simplify payments across all financial institutions.

Jean Bosco Iyacu, CEO of Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR), reflected on how challenging the financial sector was before eKash.

“The journey toward eKash did not begin in 2022 but in 2014. Back then, only 44% of mobile phone owners used mobile money, mainly for buying airtime.” He said.

Iyacu further explained that in 2016, Rwanda began adopting digital technologies in financial services, and by 2018 the country had established wider digital infrastructure to strengthen the financial sector.

He noted that digital payment systems were still not widely used in Rwanda by 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, many people were inconvenienced, which highlighted the necessity of solutions such as eKash.

“I remember that during that time, financial institutions had to request permission from authorities including the police and the National Bank of Rwanda so that people could at least withdraw money once in a while, in order to access what they needed for daily survival.” He said.

Rswitch reports that eKash has so far registered 22 institutions, enabling users to make payments to one another without needing to withdraw cash.

The maximum amount allowed for sending or receiving money through eKash is currently 10,000 Rwandan francs per day, with a limit of 2,000 Rwandan francs per single transaction.

The system also requires that notifications confirming a transaction on eKash be delivered within a maximum of 10 seconds.

According to figures from MINICT, about 82% of Rwandans now have an account with a financial institution, either a bank or a mobile-money service. The number of eKash accounts has reached about 21 million, since one person is allowed to have multiple accounts across different institutions if they wish.

Umugwaneza Eminente