Central Bank of Oman : issued a framework that...

Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has recently issued the procedure for onboarding the micro business entities in the Sultanate for e-payment acquiring services, by the Licensed Banks and Payment Service Providers (PSPs).

The new policy for enabling the e-payments for the micro business entities is in line with CBO's vision to promote e-payments in the country and to achieve the goal of less-cash society. Inclusion of these segments under the electronic payment services will support the objective of the national e-commerce strategy that is being implemented by various government agencies and the private sector.

The 'Micro Business Entities' (MBEs) are those small business entities, which employ less than ten people, and carryout the legitimate business, with a permission from the local administration like Municipality license etc. The single taxi operation, gas delivery, water tankers, home business, street hawkers and small restaurants etc., are some of the examples of MBEs.

MBEs owned by Omani Nationals with a valid approval from competent government authorities (based on the nature of business activity) along with ID proof and bank account may approach any bank or PSP to avail the e-payment acquiring service.

The objective of this guideline by CBO is to enable e-payment acquiring for those legitimate businesses which are not required to obtain the Commercial Registration of their businesses from Ministry of Commerce & Industry & Investment Promotion (MOCIIP). Since MOCIIP has permitted a list of activities that can be conducted by the MBEs with permission from the concerned authorities (and without Commercial Registration), this directives will enable licensed Banks and PSPs to seamlessly enable e-payment acquiring for such MBEs.

By availing the e-payment facility, the MBEs can enable e-payments to its customers for the goods purchased or the services provided, using Payment cards and mobile payments via the mobile banking and wallet apps.

His Excellency Tahir Al Amri, Executive President of CBO, said, 'This guidelines for availing e-payments for Micro Businesses Entities in the country should drive business growth in this sector and simplify business operations, and we believe it will significantly help in transforming business environment in using more of advanced technologies and thus reduce the cost of doing business in an effort to make it more profitable, sustainable and growing'.

It is worth mentioning that CBO operates the electronic payment platforms concerned with OmanNet Switch, the E-Payment Gateway and the Mobile Payments System, which provide electronic payment options according to the needs and requirements of merchants, the government & private Institutions can avail these services through licensed commercial banks and Payment Service Provider (PSPs). The newly introduced QR Code based payments using mobile is an easy and cost effective alternative option for institutions to acquire e-payments in the country. This service can be easily availed with a competitive merchant service fees (0.75% of the transaction amount) compared to other payment options.