Martin Endjala
Namibian commercial banks have issued various deadline notices as changes to cross-border payments within the Common Monetary Area (CMA) are set to take effect on 30 September.
These changes will impact low-value electronic funds transfers (EFTs), debit orders, and credit payments between the CMA countries, namely Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa.
Previously, these transactions were treated as domestic payments, allowing the participating banks in the four CMA countries to process them via South Africa’s domestic retail payment system.
This system provided a low-cost, efficient, and effective service to clients.
However, under the new regulations, these transactions will be treated as cross-border, subjecting them to stricter due diligence requirements.
In preparation for these changes, several Namibian banks have announced specific deadlines for their customers.
First National Bank and Bank Windhoek have informed clients that, as of 10 September, all debit orders and payments to and from South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini must be processed as foreign exchange transactions.
Standard Bank Namibia has set its deadline for 4 September, while Nedbank Namibia has extended theirs to 16 September.
Efforts to get hold of Letshego Holdings of Namibia’s communication manager, Ongame Mutorwa proved futile at the time of publication.
The Bank of Namibia (BoN) had initially scheduled the enforcement of these rules for 14 April but later extended the deadline to 30 September.
The BoN first issued the ‘Determination on the Conduct of Electronic Funds Transfer Transactions in the National Payment System’ (PSD-9) on 14 October 2022.
This regulation aims to enhance compliance with international standards for payment systems and processes, providing greater protection to customers and preventing criminals from using EFT payments to launder funds.
According to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) as of 30 September, financial institutions will no longer be able to debit account holders in other CMA countries as if they were domestic customers or policyholders.
“Debit orders collected from customers’ accounts within the CMA countries will have to be initiated from an account domiciled in the respective CMA country. These measures will provide customers with greater protection as domestic central banks and conduct authorities will have in-country recourse against any unscrupulous debit order practices,” said the bank.
