rundheersing bheenick : the new system for clearing cheques in mauritius remarks by mr rundheersing bheenick, governor of the bank of mauritius, at the pre - launch event of the cheque truncation system, port - louis, 22 july 2011. * * * i am very pleased to welcome you to the pre - launch event of the cheque truncation system ( cts ). we are today launching an awareness campaign on the new modern system for clearing of cheques, the cts, which will soon be implemented in our country. the setting up of the cts is a significant milestone in the mauritian banking sector. it is the fruit of a very close collaboration between the bank of mauritius ( bom ) and the mauritius bankers association ( mba ). i am very happy to have around me the acting chairman and the ceo of the mba, as well as the ceos of banks. as you may be aware, as per the provisions of the bank of mauritius act 2004, the organization of the clearing house is done in conjunction with banks. so this is a bom / mba event. the port louis clearing house following the enactment of the bank of mauritius act 1966, at the suggestion of the bank of mauritius, the mauritius bankers ’ association established, on 19th august 1968, a mauritius clearing house for the five banks which constituted the banking industry of the country at the time. the meeting place was the bank of mauritius. later it became the port - louis clearing house. over the years, the port - louis clearing house went through a process of modernization. first the cheques were standardised with the introduction of the magnetic ink character recognition ( micr ) technology. concurrently, information regarding clearing and settlement of cheques started being exchanged through the mauritius automated clearing and settlement system ( macss ). nonetheless, the port - louis automated clearing house ( plach ), as it was renamed, continues to function on a manual mode, with the exchange of physical cheques. the cts will do away with this manual process which, as you will see, is quite tedious. let me briefly explain the process. the clearing process cheques deposited by clients are collected from all bank branches ( 215 ) and transported to the respective head office. there, the cheques are sorted according to the respective banks, bundled together and transported to the plach twice a day, at 10. 00hrs and 15. 00hrs.

of a payment infrastructure through the national payment switch has been an item high and dear in the bank ’ s agenda. i am pleased to announce that the national payment switch is operational. a quick word on the global economic environment. at the time i had assumed office as governor, there was widespread optimism that the global economic outlook was robust. this optimism, unfortunately, did not last long. a series of events have created dimmer prospects for 2019 global growth. against this uncertain backdrop, domestic economic and financial conditions have remained largely stable and commendable. our concern remains the recent trends in private investment and exports. these issues need to be addressed to sustain growth and employment creation. i am convinced that each and every mauritian is proud of the progress we have achieved so far since the independence. mauritius has successfully reinvented itself in the wake of various global shocks and following decades of positive growth momentum, we have emerged as a resilient country. let all the partners – public sector, private sector, civil society, the press – join hands to capitalize on our strengths to tap opportunities emerging from our strategic location between the two fastest - growing continents, which are asia and africa. as winston churchill put it, “ a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity ; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. " i wish to thank all members of the board of directors, my deputy governors, mpc members and staff of the bank for their unflinching support and commitment, without whom the bank would not have been able to achieve so much. i also commend all economic stakeholders for their contributions to the economy. on behalf of the board of directors, the members of the mpc, my deputy governors, staff of the bank of mauritius, and my own behalf, i wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new year 5 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches 2019. 6 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches