Feb 28: Deadline for electronic transfer of salaries

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has announced February 28, 2021, is the deadline for banks to fully enforce electronic transfer of salaries and other recurring payments.

‘CBO would like to draw the attention of all government and private agencies/companies that banks will not receive any salary orders and recurring payments by unsecure methods (after February 28),’ the CBO stated in a notice issued on Tuesday.

‘CBO, in cooperation with the Ministries of Finance and Labour, calls on banks and financial institutions operating in the sultanate to commit to providing an easy and smooth mechanism for transferring salaries and recurring payments through electronic banking services to all government and private agencies and to stop using traditional means.’

The bank stated that it has worked in cooperation with the relevant authorities to implement this initiative since 2019 and the deadline had been extended multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘It has been decided that February 28 will be the deadline for banks not receiving any requests to transfer salaries by traditional methods.’

The CBO urged all parties to cooperate with banks and adhere to the specified date for the implementation of the mechanism at the national level in the interest of the public, while ‘stressing its keenness to harness all capabilities and procedures in order to ensure the smooth flow of banking services, safe and continuously.’