Uganda’s Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka said that local financial institutions must offer mobile phone solutions in order to make banking more accessible to the public. Uganda is spearheading the mobile banking plan to help boost the country’s economy.
During a meeting held late last week in the country’s capital Kampala, Kiwanuka said the financial institutions need products that will lead to financial inclusion and reduce the cost of doing business. 
The meeting also marked the launch of InterSwitch, a Nigerian company that acquired 60% of Bankom Uganda, a provider of inter-switching services to local banks and microfinance institutions.
Bankom hopes the deal will allow them to expand into East Africa.
Despite Uganda’s massive gains in the telecom and financial sector in recent times, Kiwanuka said there’s a huge gap in terms of the absence of mobile payments that can allow the government and companies to collect revenue efficiently.
“With easier payment systems, we will see increased voluntary tax compliance and in return see improved tax collection,” said Kiwanuka.
Ugandan telecom carriers have launched mobile banking solutions and hope to continue to bolster the sector in the next coming months.
Isaac Mundke Uganda’s former ministry of telecommunications official said the future of finance and telecoms are linked together in making it easier for Ugandans to do business on their mobile phone.
