Navigating Zambia’s Digital Payment Landscape

Wed, July 29 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — The Zambian digital payment ecosystem historically struggled with severe fragmentation, relying heavily on bilateral agreements between financial institutions and routing domestic card transactions through expensive international networks. To address these structural inefficiencies and lower the cost of domestic electronic payments, the Bank of Zambia, the Bankers Association of Zambia, and the Zambia Electronic Clearing House Limited initiated the National Financial Switch project in 2013. The system was designed as a shared public utility to interconnect various payment streams, including automated teller machines, point-of-sale systems, and mobile money platforms, thereby eliminating the need for institutions to build and maintain costly bilateral connections. Continue reading →