Value of e-payments totalled JD9.5b in 2021 — CBJ

AMMAN — Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Adel Sharkas on Saturday said that the number of e-transactions conducted during 2021 reached 34 million, with a total value of JD9.5 billion, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The sixth bank report on the payment system in Jordan for the year 2021, showed that the e-payment sector witnessed positive developments compared with 2020, which witnessed 25 million transactions with a total value of JD2 billion. 

The payment system monitors, analyses and highlights the most important developments in the systems and channels of payment and electronic transfer of funds. 

The number of billing transactions increased by 51 per cent, with the value increasing by 27 per cent, Sharkas said. 

As for the number of cheques issued and used in 2021, they reached 10 million, with a total value of nearly JD49 billion, he noted. 

In regard to payment cards issued by banks operating in the Kingdom, their number amounted to about 4.5 million payment cards of various types (credit, debit and prepaid).

As for the number of cards issued by payment companies and electronic transfer of funds in the Kingdom, they amounted to approximately 148,000 credit and prepaid payment cards. 

Turning to the number of automated teller machines (ATMs), they reached 2,195, distributed across the Kingdom.

The number of point-of-sale machines amounted to 44,314, Sharkas added. 

Sharkas highlighted the remarkable increase in the use of electronic channels affiliated with banks operating in the Kingdom, as e-transactions constituted 67 per cent of the total transactions during 2021, compared with 33 per cent made through traditional payment channels.

He added that the issuance of the bank’s report, published on the bank’s website www.cbj.gov.jo, came to shed light on the organisational and legislative development of the national payment system and its components during 2021. 

He pointed out that this report included an overview of the global payment systems adopted by the CBJ during 2021, and topics in the new financial innovations that took place on the national payment system and its components in Jordan.

The report provides reliable and up-to-date information for researchers, decision makers and investors to benefit from it in developing and promoting the use of e-payment systems and channels in the Kingdom, he said.

Sharkas stressed the importance of this report, which is a primary source of information related to the national payment system and its components, and was prepared based on international practices and standards in this regard to reflect CBJ’s strategy to support the transition to an electronic payment environment, including support for available and applicable modern payment initiatives, in implementation of the Royal vision.