Interbank transfer system volumes drop, says RBM

 The Malawi Interbank Transfer and Settlement System (Mitass) in 2023 registered mixed performance in terms of transactions processed with volumes dropping by seven percent while the value of transactions increased by 84.5 percent, it has emerged.

The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) National Payment System Report shows that the volume of transactions decreased by seven percent from K8.03 million to K7.5 million, while the value of transactions increased by 84.5 percent from K74.1 trillion to K136.7 trillion.

Reads the report in part: “The decrease in the volume of Mitass transactions was mainly driven by a drop in transactions in all three payment channels led by cheques decreasing by 12.7 percent, followed by large value transactions which decreased by 10.7 percent and lastly, electronic funds transfers by 6.0 percent.”

During the period under review, the volume of mobile payments grew 31 percent from K1.03 billion to K1.36 billion while the value of transactions increased from K7.9 trillion to K13 trillion.

However, the report further observes that while the volumes of cheque transactions have dropped, the value of transactions rose from K2.6 trillion to K2.9 trillion, representing a 12 percent increase as some agents still prefer to use cheques for high-value transactions.

Reacting to the report on Friday, Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito urged the RBM to promote awareness on the benefits of digital transactions, improve connectivity between digital platforms and ensure that agents have the right gadgets to encourage the transition to digital platforms.

He said: “The biggest problem is connectivity because sometimes, digital transactions do not go through because there is a connectivity gap.

“This is inconvenient for customers because the transactions cannot be reversed immediately.”

Alliance for Financial Inclusion head of monitoring and evaluation Charles Marwa earlier said in the statement that barriers to the uptake of electronic payments, including low digital financial literacy and limited awareness among financial consumers.

“There is also unwillingness by some merchants to accept digital payments for various reasons, including fear of fraud and low awareness of digital financial services and products,” he said.

In 2022, RBM with support from Alliance for Financial Inclusion, initiated the Scale-up and Regulation of Electronic Payments/Digital Financial Services to scale up usage of electronic payments