Muscat: During a meeting on Tuesday, members of the Economic and Financial Committee of the Shura Council underscored the importance of transparency concerning the fees associated with electronic payment transactions.
The committee convened with several officials from the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) to examine the fees that the bank charges shop owners for electronic payment services.
Additionally, the committee emphasized the ongoing need to enhance the electronic payment system to streamline business operations, which would have a favorable effect on the growth of various commercial activities and contribute to the economic advancement of the Sultanate of Oman.
This meeting was part of the second session of the second annual meeting (2024-2025), led by Ahmed Said Al-Sharqi, the head of the Economic Committee, and attended by esteemed committee members.
The session commenced with a presentation from specialists at the Central Bank, who reviewed the payment system in Oman over the last two decades. The presentation detailed the CBO's role in payment systems and services, along with significant services and systems introduced in 2024.
Furthermore, the presentation traced the development of the digital payment system from its beginnings, the growth of electronic payment services, the advantages for customers, and the objectives behind these services. It also introduced the global IBAN system utilized in Oman, emphasizing its significance and benefits in credit transactions. The discussion then transitioned to the contemporary electronic authorization system and its function in expediting and simplifying installment payment processes. The contribution of electronic services in the fight against money laundering, tax evasion, and illegal trade was also discussed.
At the conclusion of the presentation, a comprehensive set of statistics and data regarding payment systems from 2022 to October 2024 was presented. This included insights into the transaction volumes processed through retail payment systems, the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, and ongoing transactions within the Omani local network channels.
Subsequent to the presentation, a thorough series of discussions ensued between the committee members and officials from the central bank. The discussions primarily centered on the fee structures associated with banking services in the electronic payment landscape, the rationale behind these fees, and the methodologies used to calculate fees for electronic payment services, interchange fees, and charges imposed by the Central Bank of Oman.
