Stéphanie Ng Tseung, Head of Payments at MCB: "Only 28% of payments are made in cash"

Stéphanie Ng Tseung, the Head of Payments at MCB, stated, "Only 28% of payments are made in cash."

What do you think is needed to accelerate the transition to digital payments?
What we primarily need is a coherent strategy among all stakeholders – banks, authorities, regulators, and merchants. We must have clear ambitions to minimize the use of physical cards, checks, and cash.

In 2025, while we discuss tokenization and digital payments, we are still using checks, an archaic payment method: a piece of paper, a signature to verify, two days for clearing. It is time to modernize our practices.

For instance, Seychelles has already announced the end of checks by December 2026. We should take inspiration from this approach and also make it clear that cash has a cost.

The goal is not to completely eliminate cash, as some parts of the population are still not comfortable with digital, but to gradually reduce it. This also requires an inclusion policy to integrate informal businesses into the formal economy without penalizing them.

As the holiday season approaches, what are your thoughts on the evolution of digital payments?
We observe a clear trend: digital payments are progressing every year. Our Cash to Digital Payments Ratio indicates that today, only 28% of payments are made in cash, down from over 40% four years ago.

Thanks to educational campaigns and awareness efforts, consumers are increasingly adopting digital payments. However, cash is still very present, especially in certain sectors. In large shopping centers, digital payments are well established, but in markets or small hardware stores, it’s a different story.

What obstacles need to be overcome for digital payments to become truly universal in Mauritius?
The main challenge lies with merchants. In Mauritius, we have more cards and mobile phones than people, so the issue does not come from consumers.
Of about 125,000 registered businesses, only 30,000 accept digital payments. We have quintupled the number of acceptance points in three years, but there is still a long way to go.

Many micro-enterprises still believe that digital represents an additional cost. In reality, accepting digital payments is a growth opportunity: it attracts more customers, facilitates access to credit, and can increase revenue by 20 to 25%. It’s simply a matter of adopting the right mindset.