Africa-Press – Eswatini. Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) Governor Dr. Phil Mnisi says with the implementation of the national payment switch (NPS), South African owned banks will be compelled to switch locally.
He said the NPS was a strategic intervention with massive benefits for Eswatini, which would be implemented over the next five years as the bank looks to contribute to the country’s socioeconomic development and ensure long-term financial sustainability.
Speaking during a media session dubbed ‘Coffee with Governor’ at Mugg & Bean on Wednesday, the governor highlighted that CBE was keen to implement the national payment switch in the banks so as to provide an enabling regulatory environment.
He said the initiative was aimed addressing the need for enhanced payments architecture to meet specific needs for the country, especially the need for reduced banking costs.
Mnisi further highlighted that CBE had reserved about E80 to E90 million for the implementation of the NPC. “Currently, banks whose ownership was based outside the country are settling their payments outside the country,” said Mnisi.
He further stated that with the implementation of the NPS, those banks would be compelled to settle their payments locally.
Outlining the benefits of the NPS during the media engagement, the governor said the main benefit of the NPS was that it would reduce the cost of banking services significantly.
He added that the switch would facilitate the interconnectedness and inter-operationalibility among and between bank and non-bank financial providers.
Mnisi stated that, therefore, the interconnectedness of the two financial providers would facilitate near real time payments and further facilitate processing of e-commerce gateway transactions.
“The essence here is moving funds securely, efficiently and effectively to fuel economic growth,” he said.
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