Mauritius’s Payment Rails & How They Work – MauCAS, Instant Transfers & Digital Wallets

Introduction

Mauritius is emerging towards becoming a financial leader in Africa - with its rails constantly modernizing towards delivering instant, secure and efficient payment systems, the country is ahead of most of its neighbours in this evolution. The core of this system has been built on MauCAS (Mauritius Central Automated Switch) along with other accompanying systems enabling transfers and monetary circulation at its best.

With the economy being largely dependent on tourism, textiles, financial industry and the ICT sector, Mauritius is a high income economy placing it at a position of constant requirement for digitization and modernization. With this requirement along with other factors driving it towards a highly digital economy, Mauritius is accommodating newer fintech solutions, digital asset transactions and more innovative breakthroughs in the economy. Lets see how change is coming about in this realm of Mauritius and what is it building upon!

Modernization of Mauritius’s Payment System with MauCAS

Fully operated by the Bank of Mauritius, MauCAS is the developmental breakthrough in the national payment system. It has become a full proof evidence of how easy digitization can make daily lives of individuals, collectives and institutions. Its benefits can be summarized as;

As a 24/7 digital nucleus, it now enables easy routing of card, mobile and ecommerce payments between bank and non bank operators overall increasing the system’s efficiency and interoperability.

For near instant transfers, IPS(Instant payment system) built upon the MauCAS system provides access to P2P transfers, direct debits and credits within seconds across all participant institutions.

Businesses and institutions have been seeing liquidity advantages and better efficiency with this system as its the first national payment platform operating round the clock through the week.

MauCAS has brought about a gateway for fintech revolutions as it adheres to open standards and API enabled access establishing decentralized and open banking capabilities. It also introduces an Alias feature where account holders are allowed payments with pseudo names instead of account numbers for better security.

A cashless economy with fintechs and digital wallets

With constant encouragement of widespread cashless transfers and digital payments, the economy is moving towards the better side of the digital spectrum. The initiates and capabilities can be highlighted as;

The ‘local Instant transfer’ facility by AfrAsia Bank leverages MauCAS to facilitate instant MUR targets up to a certain limit via online banking, open to be utilised round the clock

A variety of mobile payment systems are primarily in operation like Orange Money, Juice, and EMTEL Blink with a combination of bank led and operator led models.

Apps deploying fee free transfers, instant settlements and phone number linked services along with QR integrations are all widely taking position and are easily available to users without prior formal banking history.

Another example illustrates the development in its great application, MauBank WithMe, offers account management, mobile topups and withdrawals from ATMs both without cards. It also makes instant transfers possible to other local banks.

Another capability that continues to bolster the digital payment infrastructure is the MACSS real-time gross settlement system enabling open access APIs and digital identity systems which extend from the centralized structures.

Fintechs and digital payments are swiftly and efficiently reshaping the financial behaviour of the country. The demand of digitalization has surged, the applications have also taken a high seat. Every step towards modernization is benefiting Mauritius in ways which will help the country realise its economic potential. TransFi here, makes up for one such pathway towards modernization, bridging the payment delay gaps, high costs and transparency concerns, TransFi brings payments which can be easily blended with the local rails and help overcoming any hurdles in seamless digital payment networks.

A glimpse into future of payments

As payments and digitization take a high leap, the future of payments across the world lies in digital assets and crypto exchange for transactions. While this is not a new concept for various economies of the world, Mauritius is still familiarising with the digital asset payment ecosystem. Cross-border payments with crypto in Mauritius would address barriers like high fees, slow bank wires, and rigid corridors. Sending money from some part of the world to countries in Africa usually takes days and costs a fortune. With stablecoins, that same transfer takes minutes and costs cents. This affects not just individuals and industries, but entire communities like SMEs importing or exporting goods, NGOs seeking global support, individuals wanting to send monthly remittances to their families and businesses having cross-border operations or a global workforce. TransFi is the best solution for cross-border payments with crypto in Africa. It connects stablecoin rails to 40+ fiat currencies and 250+ local methods, in an instant, compliant, and secure manner with no hidden fees as well as transparent rates. With strong local rails in the country, Mauritius is open to innovation and is highly adaptive of global economic revolutions. These factors push maturities towards a cashless economy, a high potential of which is already achieved and the rest is getting realized with consecutive innovations like digital assets and blockchain payments infused with the local digital rails.

Building on the payment momentum in mauritius

With instant retail payments, user centric rails and digital systems like TransFi, MauCAS and other platforms, Mauritius is moving towards a future with an advanced unified payment system. If you or your business are exploring payment integration, digital wallet infrastructure or digital asset cross border payments in and across Africa and the rest of the world, TransFi can be your guardian. We’ll help you navigate through the entire payment infrastructure and existing rails via our user friendly system. Signup with TransFi today and avail what’s waiting for a well equipped payment future!

Conclusion

African countries are no strangers to the use of digital solutions for money transfers, nor to the rapid implementation of such technologies. It is often said that the pervasiveness of mobile telecommunication usage in Africa, enabled the continent to leapfrog many first-world countries. There is already an abundance of local mobile and e-payment platforms that have seized this as an opportunity to develop innovative ways to reduce the friction associated with transferring money across the continent. An example is Transfi, which has been used widely for crypto and digital asset transactions allowing customers to send and receive money via digital assets, various currencies, cryptos, etc. Rather than replacing current local rails, TransFi would act as a smooth bridge between the modern and the traditional, accommodating all industries and individuals, communities and families and unite all users with financial systems aid and inclusivity!

Also read: Germany’s Payment Rails & How They Work – SEPA, Girocard, Sofort & Instant Payments

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is MauCAS in Mauritius?

MauCAS is the core payment system operated by the bank of Mauritius nationally. It enables e-commerce payments, instant transfers, 24/7 routing and more for businesses and individuals in Mauritius.

How do instant transfers work in Mauritius?

Through IPS (Instant payment system) powered by MauCAS, users can send and receive money instantly along the network of participating banks.

Why is it beneficial to induce crypto payments in the country’s payment rails?

Overall, crypto and stablecoins have established themselves as growing and significant components of the global payment infrastructure, with expanding usage across transaction types and regions, pointing to their growing centrality in the international economic system.

Which is the best platform to receive crypto payments in Mauritius?

TransFi is the best platform to receive crypto payments in Mauritius. It’s powered by stablecoin rails, supports USDC and USDT, offers instant, secure, compliant remittances, and integrates with 250+ local payment methods across 40+ currencies and 100+ countries.

How is Mauritius advancing towards digitization of payments?

These payments in the country are advancing through;

E-governance and digital payment reforms taken up by the government and institutions, like MauCAS.
Encouragement of cashless payment systems among banks and telecom providers under various initiates.
Upcoming and flourishing fintech solutions(like TransFi) in the private sector.

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