Although some Rwandans using the new eKash payment and money transfer system say it has helped them because of the lower fees charged on transactions, a number of users say they are still running into problems, particularly delays or failures when they try to send or withdraw money.
They say these disruptions have real consequences, since the funds they need often become inaccessible at the moment they need them most. The National Bank of Rwanda acknowledges that the problem exists and says it is working on it, adding that it is collaborating with financial institutions to resolve the issue so that transfers can eventually go through without interruption.
The new eKash payment and transfer system was launched nationally on 14 July 2026. The National Bank of Rwanda recently reported that since its launch, more than 10.5 million payment and transfer transactions have been carried out through the platform, with 98.6 percent of them completed successfully. Customers have moved more than 960 billion Rwandan francs through eKash.
The central bank also noted that the number of people using interoperable payment services between different financial institutions has grown sharply, rising from 740,787 users to 1,971,522 by the end of July 2026, an increase of 166 percent.
Some eKash users say the platform has made a real difference
Benihirwe Munezero Yvette, who works in business, said: “eKash has helped me a great deal. As a business owner, my work requires me to send money frequently, whether I am restocking or settling payments with fellow traders. Before, we were charged high fees, but since eKash arrived, things have become easier, and now the charges are much lower.”
Erneste Kwizera said: “You can see that eKash has reduced the fees we used to pay to send money, and that is something we are very happy about.”
While these users point to clear benefits, others describe difficulties they have personally experienced with eKash, including delays or failures when trying to send or withdraw money, and they are calling for these issues to be fixed.
Katishitike Emmanuel said: “The problem I still see with eKash, from my own experience, is that recently my child fell ill and I tried to withdraw money from my account through eKash to send to my wife so she could take the child to the hospital, but it failed. I started trying around 10 a.m., and by 11 a.m. it still was not going through, so I had to ask my neighbours to lend me money so the child could get to the hospital in time. What we are asking is that these system problems be fixed, so that whenever someone needs their money, they are able to access it.”
The National Bank of Rwanda acknowledges that this problem exists and says it is tracking it closely so that it can be resolved, with the goal of allowing people to send money without any obstruction. Fabrice Tuyizere Majyambere, Director in charge of Payment Systems at the central bank, said: “After the eKash platform was launched, we identified these disruptions. As the National Bank of Rwanda, what we are doing today is monitoring the system technologically so that the issues that arise can be resolved, ensuring that anyone who sends money is able to reach the recipient without any obstruction.”
This was echoed by the Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, Nick Barigye, who said that given the high expectations the country has for eKash and the desire to see its user base continue growing, the problem will keep being monitored closely until it is fully resolved.
Barigye said: “What I want to assure people of is that the National Bank of Rwanda is working with financial service providers, and this is something we are following up on every single day. There is a team dedicated to reviewing how the service is being delivered and how any issues that emerge are resolved quickly. The country has high expectations for eKash, so we want to reassure people that we are following this up daily to get it resolved, so that in the days ahead we will see more and more people continuing to use it.”
The National Bank of Rwanda also reported that the value of transactions carried out through digital payment channels rose by 36.1 percent, reaching 27.8 trillion Rwandan francs in the second quarter of 2026, while the volume of such transactions grew by 21 percent, reaching 889.9 million.
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