Vanuatu’s New Payment System to Support Digital Economy and Boost Financial Inclusion

Photo: PhillipC (https://bit.ly/3IYY8Dm. Retrieved from centralbanking.com

People in Vanuatu are set to benefit from a new national digital payment platform, part of an ongoing transformation of the nation’s financial infrastructure to build a modern, resilient financial system, which can support the digital economy and drive inclusive economic development.

Launched by the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu, the VANKLIA system is expected to increase access to banking and financial services and encourage more people to open a bank account. The VANKLIA system has two main components: a Real-Time Gross Settlement component which carries out high value and high priority payments and settlement in real time; and an Automated Clearing House component which facilitates the clearing of low value, high volume electronic fund transfers for batch payments such as salary payments and instant fund transfers for retail payments.

“We are delighted to unveil this historic development for Vanuatu’s financial system which will enable safe, rapid and efficient transfer of money and financial instruments. The nation’s new electronic payment platform will do so much to support financial transactions and the broader economy,” saidReserve Bank of Vanuatu Governor Simeon Athy. This is a crucial step on our path to growing our digital economy. It will also enable our banks and financial services companies to create new digital services, offering more choice for consumers and driving inclusive economic development.”

The launch of the new system addresses inefficiencies in Vanuatu’s payment system which had been negatively impacting everyday business and economic activity. Transfers between banks relied on the manual clearance of cheques, which often led to significant delays. This new digital platform will enhance Vanuatu’s financial stability and efficiency, bringing new capabilities which will make transactions quicker and safer. It will also enable new innovative financial services to be added into the future.