Deadline: 09-Dec-2016 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

Cross-border payments in East Africa comprise a significant and growing part of regional GDP. Agriculture related cross-border transactions alone surpass 60 million transactions and USD 900 million in the region annually. USAID estimates that 95% these transactions are made through the physical exchange of cash. The total size of the informal payments sector in the region remains unknown. However, the types of solutions available for cross-border transactions are becoming more varied. Person to Person (P2P) remittances through digital financial services already account for USD 1.3 billion per year within East Africa.

As part of understanding cross-border payments in East Africa, CGAP seeks to commission a study of payments infrastructure in the region. The studys objective will be to: 1) identify infrastructure providers operating at the center of East Africa markets (specifically, those providing connectivity or processing services to e-money issuers, banks and other end-user service providers, for example: switches, clearing houses and aggregators), 2) describe the domestic and cross-border transactions relevant to these channels, and 3) understand how participants currently function in the ecosystem (e.g. value chain analysis). Organizations covered by the study will include, at minimum: switches, clearing houses and significant aggregators.

The study will provide an overview of the payments landscape in East Africa, communicating a clear and concise understanding of interoperability throughout the region (depicted visually, and through narrative). The study will also identify trends, business models, and the state of infrastructure active and/or under development.

Research should help answer the following questions:
1. Who are the current infrastructure providers operating in domestic and cross-border payments?
2. What regulatory and licensing requirements exist for infrastructure operators in East Africa?
3. What are the key roles in the market? (e.g. clearing, settlement, foreign exchange, aggregation)
4. How do infrastructure providers enable current payment value chains within their country and across East Africa?
5. What key payment (and payment supporting) linkages exist to other African and global payment ecosystems?

See full tender here: east-africa-regional-interoperability-infrastructure-landscaping-and-analysis

eConsultant2 website: https://wbgeconsult2.worldbank.org

Tender notification:  # 1231715

Assignment Countries:

• East Africa