JULISHA AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS ROUND-UP.
ZAMBIA.
The Bank of Zambia has announced that cheques will no longer be accepted as a payment instrument in Zambia from June 24, 2026.
This decision follows countrywide stakeholder consultations held between July and November 2024, in collaboration with the Public Private Dialogue Forum and the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority -ZICTA-.
According to a public notice issued by the Bank of Zambia on the phasing out of cheques, the decision has been informed by the sustained decline in usage by 80% in the last 10 years, the emergence of electronic payment methods and insecurity, making cheques more prone to frauds associated with forgery, alterations, theft of cheque books and unauthorized use.
Other reasons for the phasing out of cheques include dishonored cheques, resulting in the number of unpaid cheques due to insufficient funds on the account holder and invalid signatures among others, leading to reduced confidence in payment systems, climate change and resource optimization.
According to the Central Bank, Wednesday, June 24, 2026 is the last day for customers to deposit cheques at any commercial bank and is urging the public to make use of the more efficient electronic payment platforms such as internet and mobile banking, electronic funds transfer, mobile payment systems, automated teller machine and point of sale.
NIGERIA.
The Central Bank of Nigeria announced temporary access for Bureaux De Change operators to the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025, allowing weekly trades up to $25,000 with a maximum 1 percent spread requirement.
This policy change maintains the CBN's focus on market-determined rates while ensuring legitimate forex transactions occur within the NFEM. Personal Travel Allowance and Business Travel Allowance remain accessible through commercial banks.
Association of Bureaux De Change of Nigeria (ABCON) President Aminu Gwadabe highlighted the necessity of retail market liquidity through BDCs for currency stabilization, noting that current CBN interventions are concentrated in the wholesale window.
He recommended addressing market volatility to achieve the national budget's projected N1,400/dollar exchange rate. He suggested either direct CBN intervention or bank sales of autonomous transactions to BDCs as potential solutions.
KENYA.
Card payments in Kenya have dropped to a six-year low of Sh465.4 billion in the first 10 months of 2024, down from Sh533.4 billion in 2023, as consumers increasingly prefer mobile money and cash transactions.
Meanwhile, mobile transactions reached a record Sh7.2 trillion, with registered mobile accounts growing to 81 million from 76 million last year.
The shift is evidenced by CBK's FinAccess survey showing point-of-sale card usage at just 1.5% compared to mobile banking apps at 45.7% and USSD at 38.2%. Daily mobile money usage has more than doubled to 52.6% from 23.6% in 2021, with higher adoption in urban areas (28.5%) versus rural areas (14.3%).
The trend has been supported by regulatory changes, including increased transaction limits for Safaricom, Telkom, and Airtel Kenya, and continues the momentum gained during the Covid-19 pandemic when digital payments were encouraged.
The decline in card payments, coupled with the surge in mobile money adoption, signals Kenya's unique path toward financial digitization that bypasses traditional banking infrastructure.
This "leapfrogging" phenomenon has attracted significant attention from global financial institutions and development partners, with the World Bank and IMF studying Kenya's model for potential replication in other emerging markets.
TANZANIA.
The Bank of Tanzania has removed all merchant POS terminal fees for card payments nationwide from December 23, 2024.
The directive prohibits charges on debit, credit, and prepaid transactions, with public monitoring systems tracking merchant compliance in Tanzania's payment network.