As the lead issuer and acquirer of cards in Oman, BankMuscat has taken upon itself the task of accelerating the development of the e-payment network in Oman and in opening up electronic banking channels. E-payment is now accepted at all Royal Oman Police (ROP) directorates. In fact, it is understood that the ROP aims to gradually eliminate all cash dealings.
Commenting on the usage of this opportunity/gateway/portal Brigadier Baqir bin Mohammed Al Saleh, director-general of financial affairs at the ROP, said: “The ROP is soon going to make it mandatory for all to make their payments by using cards at all ROP directorates. It is our vision to gradually phase out cash payments. We feel this is an important measure we need to take in order to move towards an e-governance vision for the Sultanate. This is likely to happen in phases and we intend to lead this initiative. This endeavour is taken keeping abreast with the latest developments in the field of public revenue collection and to minimise the use of cash”.
The BankMuscat visa electron prepaid card, which has been launched in association with visa international, will enable users to make a smooth transition from cash payments to e-payments. The pre paid card can be used at all ROP counters and in several other government sectors. It is accepted at all Oman as well as overseas establishments, which display the visa electron logo. Speaking in this occasion, Sulaiman Al Harthy, DGM-consumer banking, BankMuscat said: “We support the vision of the ROP to eliminate acceptance of cash at all its counters. This initiative of the government to move towards e-payment heralds in a new chapter in the move towards a cashless society and presents a challenge to financial institutions to rise to the occasion and provide infrastructure in sustaining this initiative. In support, we at BankMuscat have deployed point of sale terminals at various ROP counters nationwide. These terminals accept all major cards issued by local and international banks as a mode of payment.”
In Oman, the ROP is the first government body to support the initiative of e-payments at their directorates.
It is with their cooperation that BankMuscat has been able to roll out the acceptance of electronic payments at all their directorates across the country. This initiative has helped develop the habit of using the cards among the general public.
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Quelle/Source: Times of Oman, 05.01.2008
