The PMA announces alternatives for dealing with cash liquidity after the destruction of bank branches in the Gaza Strip

The PMA announced today, Wednesday, the launch of the instant payment and transfer system between banks and payment service companies (I BURAQ) to assist citizens in the Gaza Strip in meeting their obligations and conducting their financial transactions electronically, in light of the closure of most bank branches and ATMs in the Strip, and the severe shortage of cash liquidity. The execution of instant transfers will be free of charge for both parties so that the sender and the recipient will not incur any costs.

The launch of this system comes as part of the PMA's digital transformation strategy, while the PMA decided to advance its launch date in the Gaza Strip, at a time when traditional banking operations, particularly withdrawals and deposits, are impossible throughout the Strip. This decision aims to facilitate salary disbursement procedures for employees of international organizations and employees in the public and private sectors, in response to the urgent need created by the circumstances of the war to provide alternatives for dealing with cash currency, noting that most bank branches have been subjected to bombardment and partial or total destruction.

The new system settles and executes domestic payments and financial transfers between banks and payment service companies supervised by the PMA instantly around the clock, in the NIS currency at this stage. Amounts are credited to the recipient's account instantaneously, enabling employees and users to conduct their financial transactions electronically and alleviate the severe crisis resulting from the liquidity shortage in the Gaza Strip.

The PMA urges citizens in the Gaza Strip to install the electronic banking applications they deal with, as well as the e-wallets of payment service companies on their smartphones, and to review the new electronic services through which payment and transfer transactions will be executed using this system. The PMA has requested banks and companies to enhance their telephone inquiry centers to assist citizens in preparing to benefit from the new system. Furthermore, coordination has been made with internet service providers to provide their services at sales centers and gatherings of citizens and displaced persons, assisting them in using the new technologies to conduct their transactions and meet their needs.

In addition to launching the instant payment system, the PMA is working on enhancing the use of e-payment methods to compensate for the cash liquidity shortage. This includes facilitating transfer procedures between bank accounts and e-wallets at payment service companies, and vice versa, while encouraging them to expand the network of merchants and agents to enable them to use e-payment methods. Furthermore, banks, payment service companies, and merchants are encouraged to implement payment services using plastic cards through point-of-sale machines and banking applications using QR code.

Moreover, the PMA would like to inform citizens in the Gaza Strip that it has coordinated with telecommunications service providers to implement payments and transfers in cases where internet access is unavailable, using mobile communication systems such as SMS and USSD, enabling correspondence with banks and payment service companies to implement transfers.