The Salone Payment Switch (SaPS) is part of the Sierra Leone Financial Inclusion Project, which aims at making banking and financial transactions very easy and comfortable for customers.

This Project which the Government of Sierra Leone is implementing through a loan from IDA/World Bank intends to increase the interoperability of digital payments and access to financial services.

SaPS has three service lines that will be progressively introduced; the first line is a Card Switch where SaPS connects all card-issuing banks with all domestic local cards to be used in any local device.

The second line is an Instant Payment Platform, where SaPS connects to the bank and mobile operators together to allow instant payments across all bank accounts and mobile money wallets.

The third line is a Hosting Service, allowing smaller financial institutions to issue cards and deploy ATMs and POS devices, and connect to the card switch, at low cost.

The National Switch is expected to play a critical role in the socio-economic development of the country through promotion of digital financial services.

The process is further expected to drive volume, customer needs and overall national interest in the uptake of digital financial sector.