By Nnenna Ibeh

The government of Somalia has announced the launch of a new national contactless payment system that will revolutionise business in the country, the central bank governor has told the BBC.

The Central Bank of Somalia launched a standardised National Quick Response Code (SOMQR) Standard which will provide a secure platform for payment services as the country paves way for a cashless economy. This move by the East African nation comes barely one month after Kenya launched its QR Code standard.

New and easy payment system for all

Speaking on the side line after the launch in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital city, Abdirahman Abdullahi on Thursday said the SOMQR will bring digital payments across the country into one system.

He said that with the SOMQR, customers, banks and business owners can easily use the platform for various payment options.

“We have a vibrant and large payment system in Somalia… [but] this has not been connected to banks,” Mr Abdullahi says.

According to him, the payment using the contactless platform can be processed using a QR code and access to the internet for secure payment platforms through banks and apps.

“It will be beneficial to businesses as well as individuals,” the Central Bank of Somalia’s governor adds.

In a post on Twitter, the deputy governor of CBS, Ali Yassin Sheikh Ali says the the newly launched SOMQR complies with the international Euro, Mastercard, and Visa (EMV) QR standard.

His tweet reads in part, “The SOMQR standard will revolutionize the payment landscape in Somalia by providing low-cost, scalable, secure, and interoperable payments towards a cashless society.”