Suva, Fiji, November 28, 2022 – An upgraded secure, affordable and accessible payment system, part of an ongoing reform of Fiji's financial infrastructure has now gone live, paving the way for a significant improvement to the nation's investment climate.
Under the leadership of the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF), the upgraded Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) has now been introduced as part of an ongoing reform process, adding a much-needed core component of a growing financial sector and contributing to the digitalization of the economy. This is a key outcome of reforms the RBF has been leading in collaboration and partnership with key payment system stakeholders in Fiji.
"Today marks a milestone event in the reform of Fiji's national payment system. The upgraded RTGS system will enable seamless transfer of funds between bank accounts irrespective of which Bank the account is in, and critically provides the backbone infrastructure allowing for innovation of payments," said RBF Governor Ariff Ali. "We are immensely grateful for the support of the government, IFC, supporting donors and the collaboration with the commercial banks in Fiji, without which this would not have been possible."
The reforms will allow the banks and the other payment service providers to be fully interoperable and avoid the use of manual, error-prone procedures for the communication and transfer of the transactions. This will reduce the costs and risks associated with cash and will progressively eliminate the use of cheques, increasing the speed of the transfers.
"Ultimately the aim of our work to support Fiji and the Reserve Bank of Fiji in these reforms is to drive the use of digital payments in the economy, providing better access to financial services," said Judith Green, IFC Country Manager for Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. "At the end of the day, this is about supporting the Fijian people through the development of a modern financial sector which will support the growth of the broader economy and help create wealth," she said.
Enabling digital payment streams also promotes transparency and efficiency to remittance market which is critical to advancing financial inclusion objectives.
"Australia is pleased to support this important work through our IFC Partnership," said John Williams, Chargé d'Affaires. "The reforms to Fiji's payment system are bringing greater choice to consumers. Payments will also become faster and more flexible than they used to be. This will have real benefits to Fijians, particularly during emergencies or disasters, when timely payments are absolutely critical."
The development of Fiji's national payments ecosystem has included the introduction of the enabling legislation and regulations based on international best practice. This modernized financial infrastructure ensures efficiency, stability and integrity of the payments system, which forms part of a sound risk management framework and reduces systemic risks.
"Aotearoa New Zealand is proud to have supported the establishment of the FIJICLEAR system that will provide an efficient and secure service to businesses and families," said Virginia Dawson, Counsellor at the New Zealand High Commission in Suva. "Building economic resilience and a sustainable, inclusive and broad-based economic recovery from the impacts of COVID-19 through reforms to catalyse private sector growth is a key element of the Fiji-New Zealand Duavata Partnership," she said.
The system allows the capability and interoperability of other infrastructure such as the forthcoming Central Securities Depository (CSD), which will enable the dematerialization and digitalization of securities issuances and trading for Fijian capital markets. The introduction of a CSD will ensure the integrity of securities and improve financial transparency.
IFC has worked closely with the World Bank to implement the national payment system reforms in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Similar work is currently ongoing in Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
Fiji Partnership
IFC's work in Fiji is supported by the governments of Australia and New Zealand under the Fiji Partnership which aims to improve the competitiveness of the private sector and stimulate inclusive and climate-smart private investment in Fiji.
About RBF
The RBF is the central bank of the Republic of Fiji established under the Reserve Bank of Fiji Act 1983. The principal purposes of the Bank are to regulate the issue of currency and the supply, availability and international exchange of money, to promote monetary stability, to promote a sound financial structure, to foster credit and exchange conditions conducive to the orderly and balanced economic development of the nation and to regulate the capital markets and insurance industry.
About IFC
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2022, IFC committed a record $32.8 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
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