East Africa: Financial integration slow off the starting blocks

For months now East Africans have been expectantly waiting for an economic revolution to begin as they anticipate the launch of a new standardised payment system that will integrate the electronic transfer of money in the region. But continued delays in the launch of the system have economists fearing that the weak financial infrastructure here is hindering its implementation. The system, a replica of the Single Euro European Payments Area (SEPA), will make all electronic payments in the East African Community (EAC) domestic ones through harmonised laws, policies and regulations within the region.