North African country to begin electronic payment services by end of year

October 12, 2016 5:40 AM

The country's outdated financial system has been a hurdle to much-needed investment to boost its economy

Mouatassem Boudiaf

Algeria will start electronic payment services before the end of 2016, a deputy minister said on Tuesday, as the government seeks to develop its banking sector and attract investment after a sharp fall in energy earnings.

The North African country's outdated financial system has been a hurdle to much-needed investment to boost its economy and diversify away from oil and gas, which account for 60 percent of the budget and 95 percent of the country's export revenue.

"We are accelerating the modernisation of the banking sector," Boudiaf, the deputy minister for digital economy and financial systems modernisation, said at a conference debate.

Six state banks will provide the first e-payment services before the end of December to pay for items including phone bills, electricity and drinking water.

"The operation will expand to other transactions from the first quarter of 2017," Boudiaf said.