Exim Bank Uganda Limited has launched Exim Global Pay, a cross-border payment product built on TerraPay‘s global payments infrastructure. The service is designed to let individuals and businesses in Uganda send money internationally through their existing banking relationship, covering use cases from supplier payments to education fees and family remittances.

The bank said the product responds to what it describes as growing international payment needs among Ugandan consumers and businesses, as the country becomes more integrated into global trade and education flows. Exim Bank Uganda operates seven branches and more than 9,500 agents through a shared platform, giving the product a relatively broad domestic distribution base from day one.

TerraPay’s model centres on providing a single integration point through which partner banks and financial institutions can reach its network, rather than requiring each institution to build and maintain multiple bilateral correspondent relationships. The company says its infrastructure covers 156 countries, connects to more than 7.5 billion bank accounts and reaches mobile wallets and cards as well as traditional accounts.

The deal

Edward Kanyike, managing director of Exim Bank Uganda, said the launch reflects a wider shift in how customers expect international transactions to work. “A business in Kampala can transact with a supplier thousands of kilometres away, a parent can pay for a child’s education overseas, and an individual can have financial commitments in more than one country. What should not remain complicated is the payment that makes these transactions possible.”

Willie Kanyeki, TerraPay’s vice president for Sub-Saharan Africa, framed the partnership in infrastructure terms. “Cross-border payments should enable economic participation, not create friction around it,” he said. “It is another step towards building greater interoperability between local financial institutions and global payment networks.”

The release did not disclose commercial terms, transaction volumes, pricing or a target for payment corridors to be activated at launch.

Market context

Cross-border remittance and business payment infrastructure in East Africa is a competitive and increasingly well-funded space. Mobile-first providers, specialist remittance operators and pan-African payment networks are all vying for the outbound corridor from Uganda, which sees significant flows tied to diaspora remittances, trade finance and educational payments. The Bank of Uganda has maintained a relatively open licensing posture toward payment service providers, and the corridor into Uganda is already served by several international money transfer operators and mobile money platforms.

TerraPay’s strategic differentiator is positioning itself as a wholesale infrastructure layer for regulated institutions rather than competing directly with consumer-facing remittance brands. That approach sidesteps the customer-acquisition cost of building a retail brand but depends on signing banks and financial institutions that have the trust and distribution that TerraPay itself does not provide. The Exim Bank Uganda partnership fits that model, though Exim Bank’s relatively modest branch footprint and agent network means volume potential is meaningful but not transformative on TerraPay’s global scale.

For Exim Bank Uganda, the more important question is competitive parity with larger Ugandan commercial banks, several of which already offer international payment services through their own correspondent banking arrangements or through rival infrastructure providers. Whether Exim Global Pay competes on price, speed or convenience will determine how quickly it gains traction with the business customers who represent the higher-value segment of outbound cross-border flows.

Regulatory compliance for cross-border payments in Uganda falls under the Bank of Uganda’s National Payment Systems Act framework, and TerraPay holds licences across multiple jurisdictions. The release did not specify the regulatory approvals underpinning the new product in Uganda specifically.

The post Exim Bank Uganda Launches TerraPay-Powered Cross-Porder Payment Service appeared first on The Fintech Times.