Regulatory Alerts2016-10-25
Banking Circular No 3 of 2014 - Opening of EAPS Rwandese Francs Accounts
On 9th June 2014, the Central Bank of Kenya issued a banking circular requesting all commercial banks to open Rwandese Francs Clearing Accounts in their institution. This was done as a follow-up action after Rwanda completed the User Acceptance Testing phase and was ready to join the East African Payment System (EAPS) in the live environment. The EAPS, launched on 16th May 2014 by the Central Bank Governors of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, enables cross-border interbank payments among these countries. To enable commercial banks to participate in this system for Rwandese Francs transactions, they were asked to open a dedicated EAPS account for Rwandese Francs with the Central Bank of Kenya by 18th June 2014. The request should be made via a letter signed by two authorized signatories and followed by submission of mandate application forms as per guidelines. Once these conditions were fulfilled, the Central Bank of Kenya would send an acknowledgement confirming their participation in the EAPS system for Rwandese Francs transactions upon successful fulfillment of the above conditions. Any queries or clarifications could be addressed to Corazon Kamaan or Monica Oraro via email or phone.
9th June 2014 HANK KUU YA KENYA
Haile Selassie Avenue P. O. Box 60000 - 00200 Nairobi, Kenya Telephone: 2860000, Fax: 340192 BANKING CIRCULAR NO. 3 OF 2014 ALL CHIEF EXCECUTIVES OF COMMERCIAL BANKS
Opening Of Eaps Rwandese Francs Accounts
The East African Payment System (EAPS) was officially launched on 16th May 2014 by the EAC Central Bank Governors. Currently, the Countries participating in exchange of live messages are Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Rwanda has completed the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) phase and is now ready to join in the live environment. The purpose of this circular is to request all Commercial Banks to open Rwandese Francs Clearing Accounts in the Central Bank of Kenya. The Clearing Accounts will be used to transact EAPS transactions in Rwandese Francs in the live environment. The procedure for opening these Account are as follows: 1.
Apply by a letter duly signed by two authorized signatories, to Director, Banking Services & Risk Management Department, requesting to open EAPS Accounts for the Rwandese Francs.
After the Accounts have been opened and confirmed, fill in the mandate application forms to introduce the signatories to the Account as per the guidelines. The completed mandate forms should be returned to the Central Bank of Kenya for processing vide a forwarding letter addressed to the Director, Banking Services & Risk Management Department, clearly indicating that they are for EAPS Accounts.
Once the mandate forms have been processed the Central Bank of Kenya will thereafter send an acknowledgement with the processed copy attached, advising the Commercial Banks of their Rwandese Francs participation in the EAPS upon successful fulfillment of (1) to (3) above.
The process should be completed by Wednesday, 18th June 2014 as it is a pre-requisite for go-live.
For any clarification(s), please contact Corazon Kamaan E-mail: KamaanCK(@centralbank.go.ke Tel: 2861593 or Monica Oraro E-mail: OraroMOA@centralbank.go.ke Tel: 2861589.
Mark L. Lesiit DIRECTOR BANKING SERVICES, NPS & RISK MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT