Natswitch ATM Withdrawals decline
Auto teller machine (ATM) cash withdrawals through the National Switch (Natswitch) service registered a 4.8 percent decline to 60 343 in September 2015, a Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) report indicates.
The figure is down from 63 364 which was registered in August, which in itself was a 24.3 percent increase on total cash withdrawals through ATMs linked to Natswitch in July (50 980).
In its October 2015 National Payment System (NPS) report, RBM said the drop in transactions processed through the NPS in September 2015 was on account of sluggish economic activities.
The central bank said cash withdrawals through ATMs linked to the Natswitch represented 3.1 percent and 2.5 percent of the total ATM transaction volume and value in October 2015.
Reads the report: “This suggests that there is need for more public awareness activities to maximise interoperability of ATMs in the country.”
According to RBM, the total daily average transaction volume also declined by 1.2 percent to 269 498 whereas the corresponding value fell by 16 percent to K51.6 billion.
NatSwitch is a shared switch platform which became operational in February this year aimed at connecting the country’s commercial banks’ banking operations and financial transactions through ATMs, points of sale (POS) devices, mobile banking, e-banking transactions, Visa and MasterCard gateway and over-the-counter transaction.
In an earlier interview, Natswitch steering committee chairperson William Kaunda was optimistic about the development and told Business News that the switch is an additional efficiency in the way member banks provide ATM services to their customers.
He said each participating bank has an advantage of increased access points, making them available where they may not have been available or where their own network may be affected by data network, electricity or any other issue.
Meanwhile, preliminary works on the third stage of the National Switch, which will involve the integration of mobile network operators led payments onto the Switch, commenced in October 2015 are underway.
According to the central bank, this will facilitate the interoperability of mobile money transactions in the country and enhance value proposition for customers.
So far, 11 of 12 commercial banks in the country are connected to Natswitch, where customers are charged K80 for a balance enquiry and K150 for cash transaction at any ATM of another bank other than their member bank.
In a related development, a national taskforce on electronic payments to draw membership from key stakeholders in the payments industry has also started its operations.
The taskforce is expected to coordinate national efforts to accelerate uptake and usage of electronic payments following implementation of the Automatic Transfer Service (ATS) and the National Switch. N
