The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Namibia says Namibia's payment system is as competitive as any other system found globally.
Speaking at the launch of the Payment Association of Namibia's 2025 Annual Report, Dr. Leonie Dunn said the association plays a critical role in bringing stakeholders together to coordinate efforts aimed at strengthening and modernising Namibia's national payment ecosystem.
"We always are very hard on ourselves when we mark the work that we do, but I can confidently say as I stand here today that what we have to offer as Namibia rivals the best in the world. We also, now that we have evolved to launching our instant payment solution and the first use case has gone live in mid-June, are now really amongst the top 50 countries globally that have got a fast payment solution. On the African continent, I think we are the fourth. So that says a lot about what you enable as a collector."
She also noted that the payments landscape continues to change at an unprecedented pace and space, adding technological innovation, evolving consumer expectations and the growing participation of new payment methodologies.
"So as the ecosystem becomes increasingly interconnected, it demands all of our institutions have the necessary governance, capacity and collective mechanisms in place to support sustainable innovation, sustainable industry coordination and sustainable institutions in the long run. If you take any sustainability away from any of the three of those critical pillars, you are definitely going to harm the national payments ecosystem."
Dr Dunn says recent developments demonstrate that Namibia is moving in the right direction, as the 2025 Namibia Financial Inclusion Survey shows that financial inclusion has increased from 78% in 2017 to 86% last year.
"As we look ahead, we encourage PAN to continue to build on the strong foundations that have now been established and also help us to reimagine a national payments umbrella that optimally supports the Namibian economy, ensures our competitiveness globally, continentally and regionally with the best price offer to consumers to enable their further continued support and then confidently participates in our digital payments ecosystem."