Angola is endorsing an electronic payment system that will facilitate foreign trade. The new system which was introduced by the country’s Ministry of Commerce will see to the registration for import, export, and re-export trade processes, notable to be hectic due to administrative procedures.
The Ministry’s Director for the Information Technology Office, Domingos Alexandre revealed that the E-payment system innovation aligns with the payment system that cuts across the Integrated Foreign Trade System (Sicoex), which was launched in 2015 in support of traders.
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The system will allow payments through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Internet banking platforms, express multi-box, etc. This procedure will cut down the process where dispatchers resort to making deposits and returning with proof of payments to the Ministry of Commerce to commence the importers’ process.
Angola’s importation of goods process is highly bureaucratic and time-consuming. The country ranked 174 out of 190 on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business 2019. Import procedures in Angola require about $460 and 96 hours for import document compliance to be processed. This is against sub-Saharan Africa’s $283.5 and 97.7 hours for import document compliance process.
Luís Chagas Januário, the representative of the Chamber of Official Brokers said this process will reduce time, ensure digital inclusion and swift payment process.
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