Its use will allow accounts to be credited in less than 10 seconds.
SANTO DOMINGO – The governor of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, Héctor Valdez Albizu, announced yesterday the implementation of a new technological platform, through which a modern retail payment management service will be enabled, replacing the service currently offered through the Real-Time Gross Settlement System (LBTR), called “BCRD Instant Payments”.
Valdez Albizu stated that the launch of the new platform “aims to provide Dominicans with a modern and efficient retail payment service that will operate 24/7/365. Its use will allow for account crediting in less than 10 seconds, the use of multiple payment options and access channels, as well as immediate confirmation of funds being credited to accounts.”.
During a meeting with representatives of Dominican financial institutions, led by Rosanna Ruiz, executive president of the Association of Multiple Banks of the Dominican Republic (ABA), the governor highlighted its positive impact “measured through the reduction of crediting times and customer complaints, as well as lower transaction costs and less demand for liquidity in the accounts of the entities in the LBTR system.”.
Valdez Albizu also indicated that “the platform would reduce the use of cash and increase electronic payments, which translates into fewer people visiting bank branches and lower cash usage costs. Most importantly, the implementation of this new platform will promote financial inclusion and access to banking services within the framework of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (ENIF).”.
Similarly, he pointed out that “the payment system is a public service exclusively owned by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD), in accordance with Article 27 of the Monetary and Financial Law, and all financial intermediation entities and other entities of the payment system are obligatorily attached to it.”.
For her part, the executive president of the ABA, Rosanna Ruiz, expressed on behalf of the financial institutions that "the platform will impact the economic development of the Dominican Republic, through the achievement of more open finance.".
Representatives of the country's banks, along with the governor of the Central Bank. (EXTERNAL SOURCE).
He added that “this initiative strengthens the cutting-edge image of the financial system to the point of becoming a “national project”, and therefore all members of the ABA express their commitment to collaborate to the fullest extent in its achievement.”.
World Bank support
This project will be developed with the support of the World Bank (WB) and the collaboration of all entities in the country's financial and payment system. Permanent working groups will be formed, comprised of representatives from the banking and non-banking sectors, coordinated by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) throughout the process.
The new platform will be in accordance with the most modern global standards in the field, similar to that of other central banks around the world, which have implemented services of this type as part of their public policies.
All financial intermediation entities in the country and other payment service providers will participate in this new platform, which guarantees full interoperability, that is, the interconnection between all entities and their clients.
The delegation from the multiple banking sector, along with Rosanna Ruíz, included Samuel Pereyra, administrator of Banreservas; Christopher Paniagua, executive president of Banco Popular; Luis Molina Achécar, president of the Board of Directors of Banco BHD; Steven Puig, executive president of Banco BHD; Fausto Pimentel, executive president of Banco Santa Cruz; Máximo Vidal, CCO of Citibank; Gonzalo Gil, senior VP & Country Head of Scotiabank; Juan Carlos Rodríguez Copello, executive president of BDI; Roberto Despradel, representing Banesco; José Antonio Rodríguez Copello, president of Banco López de Haro; and Víctor Virgilio Méndez Saba, president of Banco Vimenca, among others.
The governor was accompanied by the vice-governor, Clarissa de la Rocha de Torres; the manager, Ervin Novas Bello; the deputy general manager, Frank Montaño; the deputy manager of Monetary, Exchange and Financial Policies, Joel Tejeda; the director of Regulation and Financial Stability, Carlos Delgado; the director of Payment Systems, Ángel González; the director of Cybersecurity, Ruddy Simons; the director of Systems and Technology, Sabrina Díaz; and the technical consultant of the Payment Systems department, Yilmary Rosario.
