The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Uganda has announced a partnership with
Interswitch Group, one of Africa’s leading digital payment and e-commerce companies,
to extend social security services to more Ugandans through Quickteller, one of
Interswitch’s flagship consumer financial and agency banking service platforms.
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Uganda is a multi-trillion Fund mandated by
the Government through the NSSF Act, as amended, to provide social security services
to all eligible employees in Uganda and regulated by the Uganda Retirement Benefits
Regulatory Authority, while the Minister of Gender, Labour & Social Development, and
the Minister of Finance, Planning & Economic Development are responsible for policy
oversight.
The Fund manages assets worth over UGX 25 trillion, invested in Fixed Income,
Equities, and Real Estate assets within the East Africa region. The partnership launched
in Kampala aims to onboard over 100,000 new voluntary savers onto the Fund’s
SmartLife Flexi product through Interswitch’s countrywide Quickteller Agent Network,
which comprises 20,000 teller agents.
The NSSF SmartLife Flexi is a flexible, goal-driven savings plan designed to help
Ugandans achieve their financial goals with the freedom to choose savings period and
frequency while earning a competitive monthly return, accrued daily.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, NSSF Managing Director, Patrick Ayota, said the
partnership will accelerate the Fund’s drive to expand social security coverage in both
the formal and informal sectors, in line with the Fund’s expanded mandate.
“One of the key pillars of our new 10-year strategic direction, informed by our mandate
to provide social security services to all eligible Ugandans, is to increase national social
security coverage to 50% of Uganda’s workforce by 2035, representing over 15 million
people,” Ayota said.
He added that, “We have in the past partnered with telecoms and commercial banks,
which enabled us to avail all our services on USSD, mobile and online, and provided
convenience for remittances of contributions. However, there remains a large number of
people who prefer a human interface, yet our 21 branches might not be within their
proximity. Quickteller agents are the bridge to the informal economy.”
He noted that the partnership responds to the continued need to simplify savings and
payments amid the country’s growing cash economy.
According to the Bank of Uganda’s June 2025 report, the value of cash currency in
circulation increased from Shs8.21 trillion in FY2023/24 to Shs8.98 trillion by June 2025,
a 9% rise, even as digital transactions continued to rise.
“This partnership will ease how our members and new savers onboard onto SmartLife
Flexi and make contributions to their accounts using digital payment channels they
already trust, such as Quickteller. It’s about meeting Ugandans where they are, digitally
and physically,” Ayota explained.
He revealed that customers can now enroll and register for SmartLife Flexi free of
charge at any nearby Quickteller agent. The minimum initial deposit is Shs10,000, and
members can make subsequent contributions conveniently at affordable Quickteller
transaction rates.
In addition, employers can also remit their mandatory contributions through the same
network of Quickteller agents, making the process faster and more accessible.
Interswitch Country General Manager, Moris Seguya, said the collaboration reinforces
the company’s mission to simplify and deepen financial inclusion.
“This partnership is pivotal to our primary objectives at Interswitch Group. We are driven
by the need to see every Ugandan access financial services easily and affordably. With
over 20,000 agents spread across the country, Quickteller is strategically placed to
serve everyone, especially Ugandans in the informal sector,” Seguya said.
“Today, about 80% of our population is employed in the informal sector, where benefits
to do with savings are limited. Partnering with NSSF allows us to ensure that Smartlife
customers, especially those in the informal sector, can deposit their savings at the
Quickteller agents within their neighbourhood, making saving easy and convenient. In
addition, our systems, which are reviewed by the regulator, Bank of Uganda, regularly,
are secure and robust to ensure the safety of our customers’ transactions,” he added.
Flavia Namutamba, a Quickteller agent located in Kampala, said that the partnership
will provide a solution to some of their customers who do not have easy access to
formal banking services, bringing them into the fold of a modern financial services
system.
“Some people always inquire whether they can register or send money to their NSSF
accounts through Quickteller since we are located nearer to them. This solution helps
us bridge this gap in the market,” she said.
In June 2025, the company officially launched Interswitch PensionRemit, a fully
automated platform designed to help employers comply with the recently introduced
Pension Contribution Remittance System in Nigeria. The new system, mandated by the
National Pension Commission and the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria,
took effect on June 1, 2025.
With this latest milestone in East Africa, Interswitch continues to consolidate its integral
role as a driver of social sector value-creation in Africa, and as a trusted transaction
solutions partner across multiple countries, combining innovation, scale, continental
reach, security, and deep market expertise, to enable governments, communities,
businesses and individuals to unlock value across different spheres of endeavour, in
line with its mission to facilitate transactions solutions that drive prosperity across the
continent.
Interswitch is a leading technology-driven company focused on the digitization of
payments and commerce across Africa. Founded in Nigeria in 2002, Interswitch
disrupted the traditional cash-based payments value chain in Nigeria by supporting the
introduction of electronic payments processing and switching services, also launching
Verve, Africa’s premier and leading domestic EMV-standard chip and pin payments
card scheme.
Today, Interswitch is a leading player with critical mass across Africa’s developing
financial ecosystem and is active across the payments value chain, providing a full suite
of omni-channel payment solutions. Interswitch’s vision is to make payments a
seamless part of everyday life in Africa, and its mission is to create transaction solutions
that enable individuals and communities to prosper across Africa. Interswitch’s broad
network and robust payments platform have been instrumental to the development of
the Nigerian payments ecosystem and provide Interswitch with the infrastructure to
expand across Africa.
See more at www.interswitchgroup.com
