Interswitch Group Inks New Partnership with National Social Security Fund in Uganda to Expand Social Security Coverage and Drive Financial Inclusion

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