… Minister of Finance reveals.
BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MBABANE– Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg has tabled the National Payment Systems Bill which is set to combat money laundering and terrorism funding.
The Minister presented the bill today to the Ministry’s Portfolio Committee which oversees the Ministry’s work. Speaking on the objectives of the bill, the Minister said the following.
“The objectives of the National Payment Systems Bill are to review and repeal the National Clearance Settlements Systems Act of 2011, and it is also developed to encourage and develop safe and efficient mechanisms for the exchange of money between transacting parties.
“It is also to enable the circulation and use of money, in other words broadly all payment instruments; it is also to ensure finality and irrevocability of settlements; it is also to ensure identification, control, minimization, and management of payments relating to risks,” said Minister Rijkenberg.
The Minister also revealed the reasons which made it necessary to repeal the National Clearance Settlements Act of 2011 in favour of the proposed bill.
“The Bill is primarily a response to increasing Innovation, the emergence of new payment methods, technologies, services, and risks, as well as policy developments relating to access to payment systems by non-banks, consumer protection, and financial stability.
“It is also a response to SADC harmonization initiatives, which has resulted in the SADC payment law, and the proposed bill seeks to incorporate the principles and the standards agreed to in the SADC model payment law,” he said in expansion to his earlier post.
He added that the bill seeks to incorporate the added services and service providers such as fintech service providers, which have seen a very significant increase in the country.
