HSBC Mauritius joins the Instant Payment System “supporting the Government drive towards digital economy ”

Launched in August 2019 by the Bank of Mauritius, the Instant Payment System (“IPS”) is designed to enable customers to effect transfers between any two accounts across institutions in real time, on a 24/7 basis.  

Presently, HSBC is able to accept funds up to MUR100,000 in real time, from any institution already connected to the IPS platform; any local bank and also through e-wallets providers with whom our individual clients can register and link their account.  The launch of the IPS system is timely as in e pandemic situation it is allowing our customers to go “cash lite” amid heightened sanitary measures.  

Today, as HSBC successfully handled its first transactions through the IPS, it marked the dawn of its forward looking digitisation journey. The latter is geared towards enhancing the customer experience by creating the appropriate eco-system where they connect and improve efficiency through the secure exchange of information. 

 “Payment systems are at the core of the banking and financial systems. At HSBC, we are very proud to be part of the innovative journey initiated by our local regulators to improve the dynamics of currency circulation in the country and to allow our valued customers to manage their liquidity more efficiently through a secure and rapid payment eco-system”, says Dean Lam, Managing Director at HSBC Mauritius. 

“The IPS offers a more robust architecture to support domestic transactions within a safer environment. For the customer, this means reduced risks associated with cash transactions and the ability to do low value transactions anytime, anywhere.  For HSBC, it provides us with the opportunity to service our customers better through improved turnaround time at our branch counters,” says Nitin Ramlugon, Head of Wealth and Private Banking.  

Similar views are echoed by Chris Murray, CEO of HSBC who adds : “If there is one learning to take from COVID 19, is that it has increased usage of both contactless e-payments and credit cards across the world.  As consumers shift to digital currencies and remote payments as a consequence of COVID-19, we are likely to  see an uptick in financial literacy with consumers having a much more transparent snapshot into their entire financial portfolio. Due to the current climate, we could see this solution become prevalent sooner than anticipated. Additionally, amid an economic recession, consumers will benefit from a more evolved and personalized payment system, as physical cash won't hold the same weight it once did.”  

Maersk (Mauritius) Limited, a HSBC customer, is very keen on using the Instant Payment System (IPS) for its inbound customer payments. Commenting on the digital transformation, Khadeeja Luckhun, Managing Director of Maersk (Mauritius) Limited, states: “In business, timeliness is key. The Instant Payment System is a great leap forward for businesses whether these have an invoice-based workflow or a digital model. What matters is that we are now able to transaction safely in real time and that is what all businesses are looking for. We can now release customer shipments 30 seconds after their payment is effected through the Instant Payment System.”