Leswitch modernises payment system

By Neo Kolane

The Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) along with Fintech companies this week launched an instant payment stream called Leswitch.

Fintechs are companies that rely primarily on technology and cloud services- and less so on physical locations – to provide financial services to customers.

This is proof of the continuous Lesotho financial industry’s journey to modernise payment system by the CBL.

The instant payment stream is another category of the National Payment Switch (NPS), a payment switch that allows all domestic payments to be initiated, cleared and terminated in Lesotho without depending on other systems in other countries.

The deputy governor of CBL, Lehlomela Mohapi, said the NPS has been a project of national importance.

Mohapi said they worked on the project together with many stakeholders such as banks, mobile money operators, and Fintechs because the payment system is broad.

On behalf of Fintech companies, the information technology and operations manager of Chaperone Limited, Lesole Polilane, said the national payment switch and its profound impact on the lives of Basotho bring a revolutionary shift.

Polilane noted that this is a significant milestone in the payment system journey towards financial empowerment and inclusion.

“It is a ground-breaking technology platform that promises to revolutionise the landscape of financial services.

“It stands out as a beacon of innovation and progress in our quest to achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals particularly those on financial inclusions,” Polilane indicated.

He also mentioned that the platform serves as a catalyst for change, a dynamic ecosystem whereby mobile money issuers and banks converge to create innovative solutions.

The new system was labelled a game changer by the CBL governor Dr Maluke Letete, who said Lesotho should be proud that it is now financially integrated.

Letete stated that before the NPS, there were numerous problems, such as slow transaction processes when transferring money between Fintech companies.

He said another problem was that Lesotho depended on South African laws when it comes to transferring of money, but now that is not the case, because Lesotho now has laws and regulations that oversee the transferring of money.

“We were not compliant with the Bank for International Settlement which provides gold and foreign exchange transactions for them and holds central bank reserves.

“The bank stood its ground and today, we are proud that Basotho are becoming innovative and hence the Fintechs that are available in the country,” Letete added.

He, however, warned that short-term problems can be expected as this is a new system, but also encouraged users to start making use of the latest offering.

Basotho can now enjoy transacting from one mobile money issuer’s account to the other seamlessly.