Namibia and Angola are planning to integrate their payment systems as part of efforts to improve the flow of trade between the two countries.
The commitment by the neighbouring countries, comes with the two countries’ central banks, the Bank of Namibia (BoN) and Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA), signing a Memorandum of Agreement in Luanda , Angola to formalise the technical collaboration and partnership between the two institutions.
BoN Governor Johannes !Gawaxab and his counterpart, Jose de Lima Massano of BNA signed on behalf of their respective countries.
“Under the rubric of the excellent bilateral cooperation between the two neighbouring countries, the two central banks have prioritised trade facilitation through payment system integration enabled by digital capabilities as a means of realising the efficient movement of goods and services between the two countries,” BoN said.
As part of the agreement, the institutions have agreed to focus on effective utilisation of the existing regional cross-border payment systems as well as exploring retail payment options such as prepaid cards for the payment of goods and services, while other solutions such as trade related guarantees between banking institutions of the two countries are being explored.
“We are making concerted efforts to improve the smooth integration of our payment infrastructure for the benefit of our businesspeople, traders, and citizens. We have no illusions that this will be an easy task but given the lofty expectations of our two governments and the demands of our business community, we must deliver on all fronts. In doing so, we will meet our people’s aspirations and build the Africa we want. We are hopeful that our ties and bonds as a people who share so much more than a border will be strengthened and deepened,”BoN Governor Johannes !Gawaxab said.
The local central bank said another strategic focus area of the partnership is the elimination of revenue leakages for the respective countries by providing timely and accurate data and empirical evidence in terms of misaligned trade data to the detriment of revenue mobilisation.
“The collaboration will involve the sharing of data and research into trade and related financial transactions for mitigation efforts.”
The two central banks have set up a technical committee to ensure the agreement is fully executed.
“The agreement also establishes a bilateral forum for the exchange of technical knowledge and mutual cooperation in cognate central banking functions, which will greatly benefit the two central banks in carrying out their respective mandates.”
The conclusion of the agreement comes after talks held by Governor of Banco National de Angola, Jose de Lima Massano and Governor of the Bank of Namibia, Johannes !Gawaxab in June of last year.
