Rawbank and  Equity BCDC, the two main banks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), have turned to digital solutions to pay salaries in the eastern part of the country, currently invaded by M23 rebels and their Rwandan allies. This concerns especially Goma and Bukavu where the lenders recently had to shut their offices.

These arrangements were detailed last week at a meeting with Hilaire Ekobo, payment and monitoring director at the National Directorate for Teachers Wages (DINACOPE).

According to the meeting’s report, issued by the Ministry of National Education, Equity BCDC, one of the banks involved, has utilized digital platforms to credit teachers' accounts, allowing them to transfer funds to electronic wallets like Airtel Money, M-Pesa, or Orange Money via mobile banking apps. The funds can be withdrawn from authorized agents of telcos.

Going digital comes with drawbacks, including high withdrawal fees, of up to 10%. These significantly erode workers’ purchasing power. Regarding this, Rawbank has suggested using the Illico-Cash application for accessing funds and noted that ATMs remain operational.

According to the meeting’s report, bank representatives present have acknowledged the difficulties faced by teachers and other workers in using these digital solutions and have assured that improvements will be made. 

The current challenges are not limited to civil servants; employees of NGOs and private companies also face similar hurdles in accessing their salaries due to the banking disruptions.

This article was initially published in French by Timothée Manoke (intern)

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho