More than three million Ugandans who live far from traditional bank branches are set to gain immediate access to formal financial services following a landmark partnership between Interswitch Uganda and Tropical Bank Limited.
The deal, announced on Monday, effectively turns every Quickteller agent kiosk across the country into a Tropical Bank service point overnight.
Leveraging Interswitch’s massive network of 21,000 locations situated in neighborhood shops, pharmacies, and bustling markets, customers can now seamlessly deposit, withdraw, transfer funds, and pay bills at the same outlets where they already buy airtime and mobile money.
The strategic move directly tackles Uganda’s persistent financial inclusion gap. According to recent Bank of Uganda (BoU) data, only 38 per cent of adults in the country possess a formal bank account.
Rural and peri-urban communities frequently cite long distances to urban centers and high transaction costs as the primary barriers to banking.
By tapping into Interswitch’s established agent infrastructure, Tropical Bank will expand its physical footprint 300-fold without the capital-intensive burden of constructing new brick-and-mortar branches.
Moris Seguya, the Interswitch Uganda Country General Manager, noted that the initiative aims to make everyday financial transactions simple, convenient, and within arm’s reach for all Ugandans.
‘Through the Quickteller agent network, we are bringing banking services closer to communities and helping more people participate in the formal financial ecosystem,’ Seguya said during the launch.
For Tropical Bank, which is jointly owned by the Government of Uganda and the Libyan Foreign Bank (LFB), the collaboration sidesteps the high cost of traditional expansion while instantly penetrating high-traffic, underserved regions.
‘This allows us to extend our reach beyond traditional banking halls and bring our services closer to our customers,’ said Abdulaziz M.A. Mansur of Tropical Bank Limited. ‘We’re offering secure, reliable, and convenient banking through Quickteller agents across Uganda.’
Beyond convenience, the partnership aligns with the central bank’s aggressive push toward a cash-lite economy. By providing greater access to digital payments and deposits, the initiative offers significant benefits to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Local businesses can now accept bank transfers at agent points, significantly reducing the security risks associated with holding physical cash.
Furthermore, regular use of these agent points allows informal traders, farmers, and gig workers to build verifiable transaction histories, which are crucial for qualifying for formal credit and loans in the future.
The service is already live across all 21,000 Quickteller locations nationwide, requiring no additional registration for existing Tropical Bank customers.
Agent banking has grown steadily since the Bank of Uganda formally licensed the model in 2017 to allow commercial banks to operate through third-party agents like petrol stations and retail shops.
Interswitch, which has operated in Uganda since 2002, built Quickteller as a digital rails system for payments and collections.
Analysts note that leveraging such established networks is the fastest way to onboard cash-heavy, informal sectors into the safe, regulated banking ecosystem.
This massive rollout marks one of the largest single expansions of bank agent points in Uganda this year.