Non-banking operators will also be able to provide non-cash payment services

Besides banks, non-banking operators – including payments companies, companies issuing electronic money and Moldova Mail – will also be able to provide non-cash payment services, said National Bank governor Dorin Dragutanu, commenting on the draft Law on Payment Services and Electronic Money which was recently approved by the Government. The measure aims to promote non-cash payments in Moldova. “Everybody talks about the possibility of making payments via the mobile phone. But without such a law, this modality will not be possible”, said Dragutanu, adding that the reason for introducing non-banking operators is to remove barriers for non-cash payments and stimulate them. To provide such services, non-banking operators will have to first meet capital requirements. Electronic money is a means of payment supported by actual money that is deposited in a bank account. Non-cash payments are expected to increase the speed of circulation of money which ultimately will enhance trade in goods and services, said the governor. The draft law also contains provisions that protect the rights and interests of the users of non-cash services as well as provisions establishing the rights and obligations of the parties. These services will be supervised by the National Bank, and in the case of the State Treasury, which the draft law also designates as a provider of payment services, by the Ministry of Finance. Today only 4% of the card payments are non-cash payments, but the central bank governor is confident the situation will change in a year or two. “I should recall that a few years ago the possibility of receiving one's salary on a bank card was very little discussed. Everything once started from zero, but then it progresses”.