Dar es Salaam. In recent years, the use of cheques as a payment method in Tanzania has declined significantly.<\/p>\n
This shift has been driven by the expansion of financial technologies and the growing convenience of digital payment systems, including mobile money services, electronic payments, and bank cards.<\/p>\n
Many users now prefer these alternatives to cash and cheques because they are faster, safer, and more cost-effective than traditional cheque payments.<\/p>\n
The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) 2024\/2025 report shows that during the period under review, the number of cheques issued in Tanzanian shillings declined by 18.8 percent, while their value fell by 8.5 percent.<\/p>\n
This means the number of cheques issued dropped to 374,984, with a total value of Sh1.693 trillion.<\/p>\n
Similarly, cheques denominated in US dollars (USD) declined in both number and value by 18.87 percent and 7.30 percent, respectively, to 56,366 cheques worth $136.40 million.<\/p>\n
The decline in the use of US dollar cheques has been attributed to increased use of the Tanzanian shilling in domestic transactions.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the trend, economist Dr Eliaza Mkuna, said that in the past, cheques were viewed as a secure method that allowed people to move without carrying large amounts of cash.<\/p>\n
This made cheques a preferred option for settling high-value transactions such as projects, contracts, and other payments involving substantial sums of money.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, payment convenience has now shifted to electronic methods, and the use of cheques is seen as outdated because it takes a long time to access funds, you have to go to the bank, have the cheque received and verified, make calls, and only then is the money transferred,\u201d said Dr Mkuna.<\/p>\n
He added that this shift has positive effects on money usage, as it enhances financial inclusion across society.<\/p>\n
Economist and business expert Dr Goodhome Mkaro said the decline in cheque usage reflects the establishment of a strong digital infrastructure that enables payments between individuals and companies.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have reduced visits to banks when making payments; they simply transfer money using available systems. This has been driven by growing awareness of digital services and their ease of use,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He noted that reduced cheque usage is positive for the economy, as it speeds up payments while eliminating inconveniences such as errors in cheque writing and bounced cheques.<\/p>\n
Growth of digital payments<\/p>\n
Dr Mkaro further noted that the report also shows growth in digital transactions through the Tanzania Instant Payment System (TIPS) during the 2024\/25 financial year.<\/p>\n
The number and value of recorded digital transactions reached 554.2 million worth Sh40.5 trillion, representing annual increases of 53 percent in transaction volumes and 98 percent in value.<\/p>\n
During the same period, the number of transactions conducted in Tanzanian shillings through the Tanzania Interbank Settlement System (TISS) increased by 3.2 percent to 4,114,826.<\/p>\n
The value of these transactions rose by 28.1 percent to Sh340.464 billion.<\/p>\n
In addition, the number and value of transactions in US dollars also increased, mainly due to government debt repayments related to major public infrastructure projects, imports, and fund transfers.<\/p>\n
Economist Prof Samwel Wangwe said the decline in cheque usage indicates that digital payments have filled a previous gap, a trend he described as being in the right direction.<\/p>\n
He said digital payments reduce the time required to complete transactions that previously forced people to leave their work to visit banks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still have a cheque book, but it is unused because we now pay digitally. Within a minute, you complete a payment and move on with other activities. We are heading in the right direction,\u201d said Prof Wangwe.<\/p>\n
He added that online payments have reduced inconveniences such as minor writing errors that previously caused problems with cheques.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s not just cheques, even cash payments have declined significantly. These days, many people choose to pay using other methods such as mobile phones or cards,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Prof Wangwe emphasised the need to strengthen security in digital payment systems further as the number of users continues to grow.<\/p>\n
While mobile payment services are highlighted in the report, analysis shows that their growth is linked to economic expansion, the availability of mobile money agents, and innovation in service delivery.<\/p>\n
The increase has also been supported by the presence of modern and effective regulations, which have boosted user confidence and encouraged wider adoption of these systems.<\/p>\n
Mobile financial services have expanded beyond simple money transfers to include international remittances and merchant payments.<\/p>\n
As a result, the number of active mobile money users has reached 66.8 million, an increase of 22.4 percent compared to the 2023\/24 financial year.<\/p>\n
Likewise, the number and value of mobile money transactions rose by 27.5 percent and 27.1 percent, respectively, reaching 5.670 billion transactions worth Sh177.107 trillion.<\/p>\n
With the improvement of digital services, some traders say they are pleased with the ease these systems provide, allowing customers to purchase goods from different locations without the need for a physical visit.<\/p>\n
Things have become easier; you display clothes online, a customer views them, asks about quality and size, and then you agree on how the payment will be made.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if the customer is upcountry or abroad, they receive their goods with ease,\u201d said Zubeda Msasanuri.<\/p>\n
Her remarks were echoed by Ms Sabrina Mwangi, who, despite being based in China, can monitor the operations of her businesses in Tanzania as all payments are made digitally.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not accept cash. If you want a product, you pay through your phone. We send you a payment request, and you simply enter your PIN. This has made it easier to track sales and eliminate opportunities for theft that many businesses previously faced,\u201d said Ms Mwangi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dar es Salaam. In recent years, the use of cheques as a payment method in Tanzania has declined…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11263,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[7698,7699,3964,152],"class_list":{"0":"post-11262","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tanzania","8":"tag-bot","9":"tag-cheque","10":"tag-digital-payments","11":"tag-tanzania"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}