they have a responsibility towards their currency and should accept all legal tender coins that are in circulation • partnering with commercial banks for a most cost - effective way to ensure circulation. the central bank in collaboration with all the stakeholders will continue to explore ways of addressing bottlenecks in the coin circulation system and strive to provide solutions. the bank also encourages the development of innovative approaches and mechanisms, including use of technologies that facilitate the efficient distribution, exchange and circulation of coins. may i also take this opportunity to thank all stakeholders for supporting this event. ladies and gentlemen : with these brief remarks, it is now my honour and pleasure to formally launch the 2012 ‘ national “ chomoa coins ” campaign ’. thank you and god bless you bis central bankers ’ speeches

central bank of kenya international money transfer and cross border payment conference ( imtc ) crowne plaza hotel, nairobi remarks by dr. patrick njoroge governor of the central bank of kenya september 21, 2017 as prepared for delivery good morning, ladies and gentlemen! it is a great pleasure for me to join you at this conference. let me begin by thanking the conference organizers for the invitation, and for giving me the opportunity to interact with the distinguished participants. we feel particularly privileged to host this inaugural imtc africa conference in nairobi. it is equally significant for the east african region, which increasingly is viewed as an attractive destination for business and investments. this conference therefore provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on the important topics of remittances and crossborder payments, the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. the beginnings of our banking system is intertwined with remittances and cross border payments. the first bank in kenya was established in 1896, to facilitate sending money home by indian workers that were building the railway through kenya, and also to support trade in the europe - south africa - india axis. a lot has changed since then. a hundred years ago, remittances depended on the movement of a written instruction over sea and land. it could take months and the transaction faced many perils. today, transfers are virtually instantaneous and current protocols ensure certainty of the transfer. customers ’ interest in a secure and inexpensive remittance channel remain unchanged. the importance of cross border payments cannot be overemphasized. remittance flows to developing countries amounted to us $ 429 billion in 2016, more than twice the amount of foreign aid that these countries received, and have become an important source of foreign exchange. 1 similarly, remittance to sub - saharan africa ( ssa ) amounted to us $ 33 billion in 2016. these remittances are a critical source of income for many households and provide a highly beneficial insurance function. innovations in digital financial services have been transforming the remittance industry. for kenya, prior to 2013 when money remittance regulations were issued, remittance flows were largely through informal channels as banks were deemed prohibitively expensive. since then domestic money transfer products such as m - pesa have evolved to become convenient and reliable platforms which with the expansion of mobile phone technology are now available to large segments of the population. for instance, kenya has a mobile phone penetration rate of 89 percent compared to the sub - sahara africa average of 43