The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) announced on October 14, 2024, the successful migration of its Kenya Electronic Payment and Settlement System (KEPSS) to the ISO20022 Global Messaging Standard. This move is seen as a significant milestone in modernizing Kenya’s financial infrastructure, aligning it with global standards to enhance payment efficiency, security, and transparency.
KEPSS, Kenya’s Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, processes large-value and time-sensitive payments crucial to the nation’s domestic and regional transactions. In the year between August 2023 and August 2024, KEPSS facilitated over 5.3 million transactions valued at KES 45 trillion for local currency payments.
The transition to ISO20022 is expected to bring multiple benefits, including faster settlement times, streamlined processes, and improved liquidity management. The new messaging standard also features rich data formats that are set to improve fraud detection and prevent illicit transactions. As CBK highlighted, “The migration of KEPSS to ISO20022 brings significant benefits, including faster settlement times, streamlined processing, and improved liquidity management for financial institutions.”
Another key advantage of ISO20022 adoption is the enhanced interoperability between domestic and international payment systems, which will simplify cross-border transactions and increase Kenya’s ease of doing business on a global scale. This modernization effort positions Kenya as a leading and globally competitive payments destination, according to CBK, which added, “With this migration, Kenya joins other regional and global economies in adopting ISO20022 Standard for large-value payment systems.”
The migration is part of the National Payments Strategy 2022-2025, an ambitious roadmap aimed at improving Kenya’s financial services infrastructure. Key to this strategy is the adoption of cutting-edge payment systems that will support Kenya’s evolving economy and its vision to become a global financial hub.
CBK has urged banks to update their systems accordingly to ensure seamless customer service as part of its ongoing commitment to enhancing the country’s payment ecosystem.
