When I assumed leadership of the Central Bank of Somalia, one question drove much of my thinking: how can we build an economy that matches the aspirations of our people?
Part of the answer lies in the financial infrastructure that allows money to move securely, businesses to trade and citizens to participate.
For years, Somalia’s payments landscape was fragmented. Banks and mobile money operators ran closed-loop, non-interoperable systems, preventing seamless transfers across providers and creating costly inefficiencies and financial exclusion.
In 2021, the Central Bank connected commercial banks through the National Payment System for large-value transfers, enabling reliable real-time gross settlement and automated clearing of interbank transactions.
However, the system did not fully address the need for a 24/7 infrastructure capable of supporting everyday retail economy. SIPS fills that gap.
Launched in January 2025 and built on ISO 20022, Somalia’s instant payment system (SIPS) enables instant, interoperable payments across participating institutions. When fully integrated, it will connect 14 commercial banks and eight mobile money and e-wallet providers through a single network.
SIPS supports person-to-person transfers, merchant payments, payments to government and government disbursements to citizens. Business-to-person, business-to-government and business-to-business services are also being developed.
Its integration with SOMQR, Somalia’s standardised QR code, will make digital payments easier for merchants, including informal businesses that drive much of daily commerce.
SIPS did not emerge from a government mandate alone. The Somalia Payment Switch, which operates SIPS, was established as a partnership between the Central Bank and 13 commercial banks. That structure was deliberate.
I believe that shared infrastructure built through collaboration is more resilient than infrastructure fully operated by the Central Bank.
The next priority is integrating mobile money operators, which serve most Somalis in their daily financial lives. Once connected, the real scale of this system will become visible, making every Somali with a mobile wallet is part of the same interoperable network, turning SIPS into a powerful engine of financial inclusion.
Somalia’s ambitions also extend beyond its borders. As the newest member of the East African Community, we intend to contribute to modern regional payment infrastructure.
We are also working to connect SIPS to the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System before end of 2026. For a country where remittances are a major source of household income, payment efficiency is an economic, social and strategic priority.
SIPS demonstrates that modern financial infrastructure can be built even in fragile context when policy direction, institutional commitment and market collaboration align. We are laying the foundation for a more connected, inclusive and competitive digital economy.