Ramallah - Ma'an - The Palestinian Monetary Authority announced today, Wednesday, the launch of the instant payments and transfers system between banks and payment service companies (i.e. Buraq) to help citizens in the Gaza Strip pay their obligations and carry out their financial transactions by electronic means, in light of the departure of most bank branches and ATMs. In the sector out of service, acute shortage of cash. Implementing instant transfers will be free for both parties of the relationship, so that the sender and the beneficiary will not bear any costs. The launch of this system comes within the Monetary Authority's strategy for digital transformation, while the Monetary Authority decided to advance the date of its launch in the Gaza Strip, at a time when it is not possible to perform traditional banking operations, especially (withdrawals and deposits) throughout the Strip, and to facilitate procedures for disbursing salaries to employees of international organizations and employees of the pub lic sectors. And the urgent need created by the war conditions to provide alternatives to dealing in cash, knowing that most bank branches were bombed and partially or completely destroyed. The new system settles and executes payments and internal financial transfers between banks and payment service companies subject to the supervision of the Monetary Authority, instantly, around the clock, and in the currency of the shekel at this stage, so that the amounts are allocated to the beneficiary's account instantaneously and immediately, which will enable employees and customers to carry out their financial transactions electronically. It will alleviate the severe crisis resulting from the lack of liquidity in the Gaza Strip. The Monetary Authority calls on male and female citizens in the Gaza Strip to install the electronic banking applications they deal with, and the electronic wallets of payment service companies on their smartphones, and to review the new electronic services through which payment and transf er transactions will be carried out using this system. The Monetary Authority has asked the banks Companies will strengthen telephone information centers to help citizens prepare to benefit from the new system. It also coordinated with Internet providing companies to provide their services in sales centers and gatherings of citizens and displaced people, to help them use new technologies in carrying out their transactions and meeting their needs. In addition to launching the instant payment system, the Monetary Authority is working to enhance the use of electronic payment methods to compensate for the lack of cash liquidity, including facilitating transfer procedures between bank accounts and electronic wallets at payment service companies and vice versa, and encouraging them to expand the network of merchants and agents to enable them to use electronic means of payment. In addition to encouraging banks, payment service companies, and merchants to implement payment services using plastic cards through point- of-sale machines and banking applications using the QR feature. The Monetary Authority would also like to announce to citizens in the Gaza Strip that it has made the necessary coordination with telecommunications service providers to implement payments and transfers in the event of the unavailability of the Internet using SMS and USSD mobile communications systems, so that correspondence can be conducted with banks and payment service companies to implement transfers. Source: Maan News Agency