A wallet filled with South Sudanese Pounds.

The national government has said Capital Pay will continue operating in the country’s digital revenue collection system as authorities introduce a cash-based payment arrangement aimed at addressing a shortage of physical currency.

The announcement followed a meeting of the Ministerial High-Level Committee for Economic Reforms with representatives from the Bank of South Sudan, the South Sudan Revenue Authority (SSRA), and 13 commercial banks involved in collecting government revenue.

Speaking after the meeting, Minister of Public Service and Human Resource Development Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, who is also acting rapporteur of the committee, said businesses conducting transactions in South Sudan would be required to pay taxes in cash, including at border points where goods are cleared.

He said commercial banks collecting revenue on behalf of the SSRA would also be required to remit funds in cash to the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

Despite the shift toward cash payments, Gatkuoth said Capital Pay would continue supporting digital revenue collection by recording transactions through its system.

“Capital Pay will continue to be collecting, but they will be paying cash and they will actually enter this into the system,” Gatkuoth said.

The minister praised Capital Pay’s contribution to digital transformation, saying the move to digital revenue collection had contributed to increased revenue collection.

“Since we have started collecting digitally, the increase of revenue has gone up,” he said.

The government said the new cash-payment directive is intended to increase the availability of physical cash in circulation as authorities work to address a liquidity crisis and ensure the payment of public servants’ salaries.

Under the new directive, all 13 commercial banks collecting revenue for the SSRA are expected to comply with the requirement to collect and remit funds in cash. Gatkuoth warned that action would be taken against institutions that fail to implement the decision.

The government said the measures are part of wider economic reforms aimed at improving revenue management and addressing challenges affecting the country’s financial system.