Payments/UG
Uganda
ISO UG · 3 schemes
Summary
- MoMoPay QR MTN Uganda merchant payments
- Airtel Money Pay Scan To Pay technology
- UNIS Uganda National Interbank Settlement
- NPS Act 2020 interoperability mandate
- E-Payments Strategy 2021-2026
Banking landscape
Central Bank
- Name: Bank of Uganda (BoU)
- Website: https://www.bou.or.ug/
- Role: Monetary policy, NPS oversight
Major Banks (2024)
| Rank | Bank Name | Type | Digital Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanbic Bank Uganda | Regional | Stanbic App |
| 2 | Standard Chartered | International | SC Mobile |
| 3 | Centenary Bank | Local | CenteApp |
| 4 | DFCU Bank | Local | DFCU Mobile |
| 5 | Equity Bank Uganda | Regional | Equity App |
Market Structure
- MTN MoMo: Market leader
- Airtel Money: Major competitor
- Interoperability: NPS Act mandate
- UNIS: High-value settlement
Payment infrastructure
National Payment Systems
| System | Operator | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNIS | Bank of Uganda | RTGS | Active |
| MoMoPay | MTN Uganda | Mobile QR | Active |
| Airtel Money Pay | Airtel | Mobile QR | Active |
| EasyPay | Aggregator | Multi-wallet | Active |
Uganda National Interbank Settlement (UNIS)
- High value transactions
- Time-critical payments
- Real-time transmission
- Inter-institution transfers
National Payment Systems Act 2020
- Enacted May 2020
- Gazetted September 2020
- Interoperability requirement
- Licensing framework
QR code standards
MoMoPay QR
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Provider | MTN Uganda |
| Feature | Scan and pay |
| Merchant Code | 6-digit |
| Fee | 1-2% per transaction |
MoMoPay Features
- QR code scanning
- 6-digit merchant code displayed
- USSD alternative (1653#)
- 1% individual merchants
- 2% business merchants
Airtel Money Pay QR
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Provider | Airtel Uganda |
| Feature | Scan To Pay |
| Wallet Limit | UGX 300M |
| USSD | 1859# |
Airtel Money Pay Features
- Scan To Pay technology
- My Airtel App integration
- Merchant details display
- Amount and PIN entry
- USSD backup option
Mobile payment apps
| App | Provider | QR | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| MoMo | MTN Uganda | Yes | MoMoPay |
| My Airtel | Airtel | Yes | Scan To Pay |
| EasyPay | Aggregator | Yes | Multi-wallet |
Merchant Adoption
- Retail shops
- Boutiques
- Churches and mosques
- NGOs
- Political organizations
- All business types
Merchant Benefits
- No public phone number sharing
- Easy payment collection
- Efficient transactions
- 1-2% fee structure
Schemes
| Scheme | Type | Symbology | Adoption | Technical standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MoMoPay | Mobile QR | App/USSD | Active | — |
| Airtel Pay | Mobile QR | App | Active | — |
| UNIS | RTGS | Interbank | Active | — |
Sources
- MTN Uganda - MoMoPay
- MTN Uganda - Tariffs
- Google Play - MoMo
- Nymy Net - Merchant Codes
- EasyPay - API
- Bank of Uganda - NPS
- ENS Africa - NPS Act
- ULII - NPS Act