KAMPALA, November 9, 2026 — KAMPALA, November 9, 2026 – The Bank of Uganda [BoU] has restored operations of its two national payment systems following a four-day shutdown to facilitate a planned upgrade aimed at improving the efficiency, reliability and security of the country’s financial transactions.
The Real-Time Gross Settlement [RTGS] and Automated Clearing House [ACH] systems resumed operations today at 9:00am, ending an interruption that affected interbank transfers, cheque clearing, electronic funds transfers and other transactions processed through the systems.
In a service update issued on Monday, the central bank confirmed that the upgrade had been successfully completed and normal operations restored.
“The Bank of Uganda informs all stakeholders and the public that the planned system upgrade has been successfully completed. Real-Time Gross Settlement [RTGS] and Automated Clearing House [ACH] services were fully restored at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, 9 November 2026,” the central bank said.
The restoration follows an earlier announcement by the central bank that the two systems would be temporarily unavailable from 5:00pm on Thursday, November 5, until 9:00am on Monday, November 9, to allow technical teams to carry out the planned upgrade.
The exercise forms part of Uganda’s efforts to implement the East African Community [EAC] Cross-Border Payment System Masterplan, which seeks to facilitate faster, more efficient, secure and affordable movement of money across partner states.
According to the Bank of Uganda, the upgrade was intended to strengthen the efficiency, reliability, resilience and interoperability of the country’s national payments infrastructure in response to evolving financial sector requirements.
RTGS, also known as the Uganda National Interbank Settlement System [UNISS], is a critical component of the country’s financial infrastructure. It facilitates the immediate settlement of high-value transactions between financial institutions, including interbank transfers, government securities transactions and money market operations.
ACH, on the other hand, processes and clears bulk electronic payments, including salary transfers, direct debits, electronic credit transfers and cheque transactions.
The temporary shutdown therefore affected banks, government institutions, businesses and individuals who rely on transactions processed through the two systems.
Ahead of the suspension, the Bank of Uganda advised customers and institutions to complete urgent bank-to-bank transactions before the November 5 deadline and confirm transaction cut-off times with their respective financial institutions.
However, the central bank clarified that the interruption would not affect mobile money services, ATM withdrawals, over-the-counter banking services or transfers between accounts held within the same bank.
Figures from the Bank of Uganda’s payment system statistics highlight the importance of the two systems to the country’s economy.
RTGS processed 215,831 transactions worth Shs 79.6 trillion in May 2026 alone, while ACH handled approximately 1.45 million transactions valued at Shs 6.7trn in August 2026.
The restoration is expected to enable banks and other financial institutions to resume normal transaction processing through the two systems. Customers whose payments were delayed during the shutdown may, however, need to contact their respective banks for transaction-specific updates.
The Central Bank thanked financial institutions, businesses and members of the public for their cooperation during the maintenance period.
“The Bank of Uganda appreciates your patience and understanding during the upgrade,” the institution said.
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