Financial system stable
Malawi’s key financial infrastructure remained stable at the beginning of 2017 according to a latest report released by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM).
Financial stability is defined as the resilience of the financial system in the face of adverse shocks and the Central Bank says this resulted in the smooth and successful processing of transactions in the various payment streams.
The Monthly National Payment System Report for January 2017, which was issued by RBM on Tuesday, also shows that Individual Digital Financial Services recorded some level of growth in the period.
RBM has attributed part of the success to its nationwide campaign on the benefits of using electronic payment platforms.
The number of subscribers to non-bank led mobile payment schemes increased by 5.7 percent to 3.6 million in December 2016.
Usage of the non-bank mobile money schemes also continued to be limited to the usual types of products as most subscribers used the services for airtime purchases and for cash-in/outs transactions.
“Limited usage of the services may be due to several reasons including lack of knowledge on the available services,” RBM said in the report.
Overall, the total daily average volume of transactions registered an increase of 10.3 percent to 479,734 in December 2016.
Similarly, the corresponding total daily average value of transactions rose by 14.5 percent to K84.16 billion over the same period.
“The outturn is attributable to seasonal factors associated with the festive season,” reads the report in part.
Similarly, the daily average volume of large value and cheque transactions rose by 17.9 percent and 7.1 percent respectively due to seasonal factors.
