The establishment of the Southern African Development Community Real Time Gross Settlement (SADC-RTGS), formerly known as SIRESS, system is one of the success stories under the area of finance and investment. SADC-RTGS system is a regional electronic payment system developed by SADC Member States to settle cross-border transactions faster without having to rely on intermediary banks from outside the region.
The SADC-RTGS system was established in July 2013 and piloted in four countries – Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. The main objective of the SADC-RTGS is to support SADC regional integration and development agenda and specially to enhance regional financial integration. Since inception over 3 million transactions to the value of ZAR 12.25 trillion have been settled on the platform. There are 90 SADC-RTGS participants, comprising of central banks and commercial banks, drawn from 15 countries.
The SADC Committee of Central Bank Governors (CCBG) Payment System Subcommittee and Payment System Oversight Committee (PSOC) aim to celebrate the 10 years anniversary of the system in November 2023 when both regional bodies conduct their final quarterly meetings for 2023 in Mozambique. The celebration will be used as an opportunity to showcase and reflect on the region’s achievement so far as well to outline what is planned for the next ten years.
