Skopje, 2nd November 2012 (MIA) – By the end of this year Macedonian citizens will be able to pay for certain services via mobile phones, Internet or a cable provider.This is envisaged under the amendments to the Payment Operations Law, announced today by Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Zoran Stavreski, arising as a need imposed by the modern way of living and the modern technologies.
– Amendments to the Payment Operations Law introduce a modern possibility for an additional method and manner of payment of service via mobile phones or by using Internet and cable providers. In fact, amendments to the Law provide for mobile operators, with an agreement with the entities where they render their services, to place POS terminals and by placing mobile phones close to these terminals, like the credit cards, payment is effectuated, your mobile account is activated by entering a PIN to pay the bill. At the end of the month, costs will be included in an invoice to be delivered by your mobile operator. This can be also realized through bills for cable and Internet providers, Minister Stavreski explained at today’s press conference.
He went on that a good or a service, ordered from home and delivered to your home, could also be paid for in this manner.
According to the Minister, this would contribute to increasing the competitiveness in the payment operations, reduction of fees and it would be a facilitation for the citizens to have more options available when they are to pay for a certain service.
Each of us, the Minister said, has faced a situation of being somewhere, for instance, in a restaurant, and having forgotten your wallet or having no credit card with you, and there is no way to pay the bill.
Pursuant to the amendments to the Law, payments which can be made through mobile operators and cable and Internet providers will be limited to an individual amount of Denar 1,000, and to Denar 6,000 as a total amount in one month. At individual operators, such limitation on these transactions is Denar 100 million on monthly basis for all users of services.
In order to be able to use this possibility it would be necessary for agreements to be concluded between the operator, i.e. the intermediary and the service provider, and certain criteria of the National Bank will have to be met as regards payment operations, meaning that each of these mobile operators, cable and Internet providers will have to obtain an approval by the National Bank by fulfilling certain capital and technical requirements. This, as Finance Minister said, is a result of being sure that payment operations is carried out in a safe manner, without any abuse and technical or other problems.
Minister expects for this activity to be welcomed by all users of services. He pointed out that discussions were held with mobile operators, who requested the amendment to the Law, and as far the Government was aware, some of them had already started technical preparatory activities to introduce such services.
Amendments to the Law are fully compliant with the EU Directives, and according to the Minister, they practically introduce a modern experience already functioning in the developed countries to the market in Macedonia.