By Doreen Chembe
President HAKAINDE HICHILEMA says Zambia’s fast-growing digital payments system must now move beyond processing transactions.
Transaction values grew from 22 billion kwacha in 2018 to over 452 billion kwacha by the end of 2023, with 2024 transactions accounting for more than 70 percent of Zambia’s Gross Domestic Product.
President HICHILEMA says digital payment service providers must now begin mobilising resources to finance national development.
He was speaking when the Payments Association of Zambia paid a courtesy call on him at State House.
The President said the progress being recorded in digital payments is not accidental, but the result of deliberate and methodical reforms implemented over the past four years.
President HICHILEMA said digital platforms must become the norm in both public and private sector operations, lowering the cost of doing business, increasing speed and improving efficiency.
Earlier, Payments Association of Zambia Representative KOMBA MALUKUTILA outlined the sector’s rapid expansion.
Mr. MALUKUTILA said mobile money wallet registrations have increased from 3.1 million in 2018 to 15 million today, representing a 384 percent rise.
Meanwhile, Technology and Science Minister FELIX MUTATI attributed the sector’s rapid expansion to key reforms undertaken by government.
Mr. MUTATI cited the removal of import duty on digital infrastructure, co-location of operators on shared towers, streamlined approval processes and expanded fibre connectivity.
