SUVA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Banks in Fiji are striving to provide Electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) machines to small shops in the rural and urban areas of the island nation as they continue to move towards a cashless society.
Fiji Association of Banks member Saud Minam said Friday the challenge they faced was small shops which did not provide them with the required documents to open an EFTPOS account.
Minam said they were working towards flooding the market in Fiji with EFTPOS machines to businesses in the second tier and all the way to small shops.
He said the aim is for people to walk or drive to places without having cash in their hands and be able to buy the smallest amount of goods without carrying any cash.
Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, who is president of COP 23 (23rd session of the Conference of the Parties), said earlier he was determined to reduce carbon emissions in Fiji by using less paper.
Since 2017, all payments made by the Fijian government departments have been done electronically without issuing cheques.
Head of the Australia and New Zealand Bank in Fiji Saud Minam said recently that the Fijian people were adapting well to the use of electronic platforms, and businesses were also conforming to limiting the use of paper.
