Sao Tome and Principe: African Development Bank Signs $3.2M Loan Agreement to Upgrade National Switch Payment System | African Development Bank

The African Development Bank Group and the government of Sao Tome and Principe have signed a $3.2 million loan agreement to upgrade the country’s National Switch payment system, which supports the clearing and settlement of high value and retail payments across the country.

The upgrade enables automatic Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) modules and Automated Clearing House functionalities that strengthen payment clearing and settlement. Through RTGS, high value transfers are cleared in real time at the Central Bank, reducing liquidity and credit risks within the system. The upgrade will increase digital payments, mobile money and other digital services.

The Board of Directors of the Bank approved the loan on 8^e March with money to be disbursed from the Nigerian trust fund. The Fund is one of the branches of the Bank Group that supports the development efforts of the Bank’s low-income countries in the region that need concessional financing. This funding complements a $2 million African Development Fund grant made in 2017 to support the country with a state-of-the-art Automatic Transfer System (ATS+). The African Development Fund is the Bank’s main concessional credit counter.

The agreement is on 23^ed March 2023 at a short ceremony attended by Sao Tome and Principe Minister of Planning, Finance and Blue Economy, Ginésio da Mata, and Bank country manager for Angola and Sao Tome and Principe, Pietro Toigo.

Commenting on the signing, Ginésio da Mata said: “This fund will facilitate the financial inclusion of the population and the further digitization of financial services.”

Toigo said: “We are pleased with the support of the Nigerian government and the determination of Sao Tome and Principe to integrate its financial system into the continental and global economy.”