Zegabi

Finextra- BPC Banking Technologies, the leading provider of Open System payment solutions,  has announced that EthSwitch has chosen SmartVista to power its national switching operations in Ethiopia.

SmartVista was selected because of its comprehensive functionality, advanced technology and proven track record in helping payment businesses worldwide capitalize on opportunities presented by the changing payments landscape.

EthSwitch was formed by all the banks in Ethiopia, and with the backing of the Ethiopian Bankers’ Association and the country’s central bank known as the National Bank of Ethiopia. EthSwitch aims to connect all banks to a central transaction switching platform that will provide customers with access to their money and other financial services via any ATM, Point of Sale (POS) device, mobile and Internet channels, regardless of which bank issued their card or in which bank their account is kept.

All connected member banks will benefit from interoperability as well as providing a new level of convenience and access to Ethiopian citizens, merchants, and organizations. Once implemented, it is envisaged that the new system, powered by SmartVista, will drive the Ethiopian financial ecosystem to new levels of efficiency, availability and accessibility while also significantly reducing the levels of cash usage.

BPC will also provide EthSwitch with the ability to interface to International Payments Schemes, such as Visa and MasterCard Worldwide and to enhance local acceptance of these globally branded cards. The SmartVista system will be interfaced to the national Automated Transfer System (comprising ACH and RTGS) to facilitate efficient clearing and settlement of all transactions.

“Our goal is to make inter-bank retail payments processing easier, while increasing security and transparency. Following a rigorous evaluation of a wide range of systems on the market we chose SmartVista because it is the solution that can best meet our diverse needs, today and for the future. We are looking forward to improving Ethiopia’s payments landscape and believe that BPC Banking Technologies’ expertise and experience will help us achieve our goal to build and operate the unifying e-payment platform for all financial institutions in Ethiopia,” noted Bizuneh Bekele, CEO of EthSwitch S.C.

“BPC Banking Technologies is proud to help drive such a vital project for Ethiopia’s economy. We have a long track record with projects such as this and we are certain that EthSwitch will have the most advanced, robust and innovative payments infrastructure, powered by SmartVista. With SmartVista’s unique design not only will EthSwitch be able to offer a wide range of services immediately but they will be well positioned to take advantage of opportunities in the future,” added Daryl Berg, MD BPC-Africa