Welcome to the Public Awareness column prepared by the Reserve Bank of Fiji. This month’s article introduces the types of payment mechanisms available in Fiji and how they work.
Everyday people trade/exchange goods and services for money. With money being the major medium of exchange, payments systems were developed out of a need to facilitate growth of commerce and economic development. In this article different types of payment systems are discussed: what payment mechanisms are available in Fiji and how they work.
To begin, let’s define payment systems. They are systems that facilitate businesses and consumers to transfer funds to one another. While cash is an important payment instrument that people use in their daily lives to purchase goods and services, other payment instruments are also available and widely used. All payment systems in Fiji are regulated and supervised by the Reserve Bank of Fiji.
Different types of payment systems are available through different platforms and these can be categorized into two broad divisions: Large Value and Retail Payment Systems.