Banks at Makerere University are crowded with extensive queues as students are paying tuition and other university requirements using the new digital e-payment system.

Places including Centenary, Stanbic, and DFCU are some of the most packed banks with majority students spotted spread outside as spaces inside banks are limited.

This comes after the university emulated a new digital payment system, the Academic Information Management System (AIMS) indented to track students’ payments immediately the money is deposited on the university bank account.

According to the Directorate for Information Communication Technology Support, all Makerere University students are required to first generate a reference number from the new platform before visiting the university authorized tuition collection banks to deposit their tuition.

DICTs explained that AIMS is one through which students can become recognized members of the university and can only generate the payment reference after having been enrolled.

However, being a new system, many students are not aware of how to go about it and seek for assistance from their leaders.

According to Ms Sarah Namukasa an attendant in DFCU  Makerere branch they have in the recent past received many clients than usual.

Namukasa however, attributed the big numbers to the newly introduced system AIMs saying “students are coming to the bank without the needed reference numbers.”

“We have to first enroll them especially new students before receiving their money, it not our roll but being that they are our clients, we are obliged to help them,” Namukasa told Journalism@mak.

Students speak out

Edith Nakyambadde a social science student found standing in the line at centenary bank says that it takes one over three hours standing in the line before being attended to.

 "It has taken me two hours here and I think I will be here for another hour," Edith attributing the delay to unreliable network at some banks other than centenary and Stanbic Bank leading to many students end up pouring here [Centenary]."    

 Kabunga Joseph, a second year Bachelors of commerce student thinks the queues are due to the increase in the number of new students and few bank attendants.