DILI, 29 november 2021 (TATOLI) – Central Bank of Timor-Leste (BCTL) is committed to promoting the Digital Financial Services (DFS) in Timor-Leste through a program called “The National Program of Digital Village (NPDV)” which had been implemented through a pilot project in Administrative Post of Maubise, in Ainaro Municipality.
Using digital technology to access financial services (known as Fintech) is becoming an everyday occurrence for millions of people across the globe.
The first project of NPDV was established on 29 November 2021, in Maubise to facilitate public officials, teachers, police officers, veterans, entrepreneurs, companies, and students to use digital technology to access financial services.
The medium and long term of the pilot project aims to give all community members opportunities to get access to integrated and interconnected Digital Financial Services.
At the commemoration of the first anniversary of the pilot project NPDV, Central Bank Deputy Governor, Nur Aini Alkatiri revealed that since the implementation of the project in Maubise, more than 700 clients had been accessing DFS via E-wallet: “So far more than 3.500 transactions had been carried out by these clients.”
Alkatiri said E-wallets for these 700 clients were provided by two companies – Telemor Fintech and Tele Digital Solution.
“E-wallet facilitates the clients to instantly transfer money to their friends, family members, and others. So, it helps the clients to withdraw money through a nearby money transfer agent rather than going to the bank. Now, the clients also can use the E-wallet to buy prepaid electricity top-up via their mobile phones,” Alkatiri made the comments at the hall of the Maubise Parish, in Ainaro Municipality, on monday.
She said that clients will no longer go to the bank to withdraw money, which they used to spend too much time on the queue.
“The percentage of the people using E-wallets in Timor-Leste is still low. Thus, we will continue working with relevant parties to promote the utilization of the E-wallet. Hence, this project will be extended to other administrative posts to increase the number of the utilization of the E-wallet,” Alkatiri said.
On the other hand, CBTL’s staff member in Maubise, Wilson Nivio Mendonca called on community members, including public officials, police officers, teachers, veterans, entrepreneurs, companies, and students to begin using the E-wallet to save their time, energy, and money.
“My role is to raise the awareness of the communities regarding the benefits of utilizing the E-wallet. We also spread information about how to integrate ATM P24 into E-wallet. Despite the Covid-19 situation, we always tried and put efforts to spread the information on E-wallet by visiting villages and hamlets in Maubise,” Mendonca said.
He added E-wallet would facilitate the communities with any payment-related activities: “You don’t need to go the Ainaro town to withdraw the money, while you can do it in Maubise.”
At the commemoration of the first anniversary of the “NPDV,” CBTL also distributed certificates of appreciation to the local authorities, CBTL staff members in Maubise, and others for their generous support and cooperation for the implementation of the program.
The celebration was attended by the Secretary of State for Cooperatives, Elizário Ferreira, local authorities, police officers, teachers, universities students, high schools students, and primary school students.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
