Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA) has partnered with Pespal to offer cashless transactions and streamlined operations in the country.
Uganda’s travel and hospitality industry has steadily progressing until the outbreak of #Covid-19 pandemic. According to UNDP, during the pandemic, the arrivals dropped to 156,000 in 2020, and the hospitality sector suffered great losses from 2019 to 2021. Prior, the sector contributed to 7.7% of GDP and earned $1.6 billion annually, twice as much as the forex income earned from the largest export, coffee.
During and after the pandemic several businesses shifted their modes of operations to online, offering quality and reliable services. In tandem, the modes of payments changed to cashless or online transactions.
Susan Muhwezi, the chairperson of Uganda Hotel Owners Association said with the increasing demand for contactless payments and streamlined operations, the partnership will play a critical role in promoting the adoption of digital solutions, enhance customer experiences, improve efficiency, and drive growth in the hospitality sector.
“Digital payment solutions are so critical in the travel and hospitality industry. With the growth in the industry, we need efficient payment solutions that cater for the diversity of businesses within the industry. It is not surprising that the effects of #Covid-19 have necessitated and accelerated the need for safe, secure and timely payments solutions,” she said.
“Hotel owners partnering with Pespal will bridge the gap and make the experience in hotels a lot more convenient. We believe that it will offer a one stop solution to all payment concerns raised by hoteliers,” she said.
She said Pesapal should use this opportunity to ensure that Uganda hotel owners association does not lose another service provider. We want exceptional services. This engagement has familiarized our members with the benefits of online payment solutions.
She said Pesapal offers a solution to one of their strategic objectives of offering a seamless, efficient and timely payment solution particularly after the #Covid-19 pandemic where we shifted our modes operations online to look for a tailor-made solution.
Isao Otika, the Technical Director at Pesapal said with cashless transactions, all the payments are guaranteed and received ahead of time, especially with online payments, because customers pay from the comfort of their home and payment is received instantly.
“There is automatic reconciliation unlike cash. All the transactions that happen on this system are automatically reset, reconciled with any accounting system. Your finance team will appreciate that facility, unlike cash where you have to balance your books and make losses in case you received fake notes,” he said.
