El Salvador’s Central Bank launches a free 24/7 payment system aimed at improving financial inclusion for informal workers.
El Salvador’s Central Bank (Banco Central de Reserva – BCR) has launched a payment system, called Pay, that will enable informal workers to access financial services.
Making it free, easily accessible, and available 24/7, the goal is “financial inclusion for the population that does not yet have access to a bank account and, furthermore, to make payment transactions in El Salvador more efficient and secure,” said the BCR in a written statement.
Users will be able to receive payments via QR code and transfer funds to and from other banks. According to the BCR, the system has 10,000 users, including small businesses and entrepreneurs, who are receiving their funds without fees or commissions.
Users must still visit the BCR’s offices to withdraw their funds, but starting in May, the system will expand to all banks in the system. Pay can be used with Transfer365, another BCR product, which allows immediate transfers, card payments, and other transactions.
The BCR stated that contractors participating in the forthcoming Economic Census and other national surveys will be paid via this platform, ensuring a prompt infusion of liquidity into the system.
Pay will keep records of income and transfers, accessible to users. In a statement, the bank said, “Pay becomes a key tool so that, in the future, the private financial system can offer access to formal credit, helping to reduce dependence on informal loans with usurious rates.”
In an interview with Infobae, the president of the National Commission for Micro and Small Enterprises of El Salvador (CONAMYPE), Paul Steiner, stated that formal credit has totalled around $2.6 billion. Steiner said, “The funds dedicated by loan sharks to the micro and small business sector are around $5.2 billion a year.”
The debut of Pay marks a fresh phase in modernizing payment systems and broadening access to financial services, aligning with President Nayib Bukele’s directive to ensure that financial products become increasingly accessible, secure, and appropriate for all citizens across the country.
