maucas, which will benefit one and all. last but not least, i thank the bank ’ s board of directors, my two deputy governors and the staff of the bank for their guidance and hard work. thank you. payment systems have always rested at the heart of the banking and financial system. over time, they have evolved from the traditional narrow channel for transferring funds into a broader integrated network for creating additional forms of value. the establishment of networks and systems for retail payments has acted as a catalyst in supporting financial access in developing countries. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

##tes from the bank of mauritius act and the national payment systems act. the bank is mandated to oversee as well as own payment schemes. the perception of collusion or conflict of interest does not arise as the bank will have separate teams for operations and oversight. the bank has always adopted an enabling approach with regard to new technology in order not to stifle innovation. maucas is a testimony of the bank ’ s commitment towards maintaining an innovative, yet secure, payment system ecosystem. the launch of maucas is not the end in itself. it is the start of a fantastic journey. the bank will go around improving the system and adding new features. the bank intends to establish bilateral ties with switch operators from other countries with a view to bringing down the cost of transactions for trade in goods and services, including for tourism purposes, with these countries. the creation of a payment card for the islands in the region is another project that will contribute to higher trade among these countries. the bank has other projects in the pipeline for the benefit of financial institutions and the public at large. on the regional front, mauritius is already a member and host of the comesa regional payment and settlement system ( repss ). maucas may serve as a regional switch to the participating countries. it can be used for cross border retail payments through mobiles and cards, with settlement being carried out on repss. honourable prime minister, in your 2016 / 17 budget speech, you mentioned that the bank of mauritius will come up with a national payment switch as well as introduce a national payment bill. both have materialised under your guidance and support. testing but interesting times lie ahead as digital transformation brings about fundamental changes in working modes and business models of the financial sector as well as changing 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches customer preferences. such openings can be but beneficial to our society and economy. we must not only take advantage of the opportunities but also be alert to manage any accompanying risks. now that the bank is launching maucas, i invite banks and non - bank operators to make extensive use of this platform. the opportunities to develop new payment services are immense. both payment service providers as well as consumers stand to gain from this modern system. operators in fintech can also leverage this platform to launch new products and services. this journey would not have been as fruitful without the support of our partners, banks and other economic stakeholders. i thank all chief executives of banks for their assistance and cooperation to deliver on