SADC Banking Association

The SADC Banking Association is a voluntary association of National Banking Associations in the Southern African Development Community trade bloc. It is mandated by the Finance and Investment Protocol and it reports into the Committee for Central Bank Governors in SADC (CCBG). Its secretariat is at the South Africa Banking Association (BASA).

Key Objectives

Promote use of international norms of good banking practice by members
Strive for uniformity (where possible) in legislation, standards, etc.
Promote the use of internationally accepted payment systems and standards
Promote improvement in financial and technical standards in the banking industry
Proactive involvement in SADC financial sector protocol development
Harmonisation of payment systems and financial markets in support of regional integration
Financial Inclusion strategy

Regional Financial Integration Role of the SADC Banking Association

Contribute to the objectives of the CCBG sub-committees (payments, financial markets, banking supervision, exchange control) in respect of their roles under the SADC Finance and Investment Protocol (FIP)
Act as a conduit through which its members can offer value to the integration process while maintaining their business imperatives
Provide an operational framework to enable the identification/discussion/resolution of challenges relating particularly to payments and financial market development & integration
Provide an IT portal for interaction and communication to and amongst members on matters relevant to integration

SADC BA SADC Payments Mandate

The SADC Banking Association received the following mandate from the CCBG Payments sub-committee;

Develop a SADC single payments area
Set and implement regional standards
Establish through research which payment instruments are appropriate
Develop regional instruments
Promote the development of interoperable systems
The SADC Banking Association is encouraged to leverage current commercial bank infrastructure and to work with the broader financial industry to implement the standards, operating processes and procedures to meet regional business needs.

SADC BA Key Principles

Each country maintains its own currency.
Each country maintains its national payment and settlement infrastructure for domestic clearing and settlement.
Transactions settle in a central settlement system: SADC RTGS.
Settlement participants hold settlement accounts in the SADC RTGS for intra-regional crossborder transactions.
Settlement accounts operate on a pre-funded basis.
Settlement currency for intra-regional transaction is in South Africa Rand (ZAR). US Dollar and other currencies to be included over time.
Clearing and settlement infrastructure is based on a sound legal basis, ensuring finality of settlement obligations.
Operating hours are based on the Central African Time Zone.

The SADC Payments Project

Provides the opportunity to inform the development of financial market infrastructure to support inter and intra-regional trade. • Interventions focused only in the cooperative (non-competitive) space. • Multiple payments streams are a part of the overall payments project including 1)Priority Payments 2) Credit Transfers 3) Direct Debits 4) Card POS Transactions 5) Card ATM Transactions