On March 4, 2020, at the beginning of the The World Health Organization recommended that consumers use contactless payment methods and avoid cash payments to slow the spread of Covid-19. As a result, in Mauritius and in the rest of the world, the use of contactless payment has exploded. In addition, according to the Bank of Mauritius, Rs 3 billion was transited via M-Payment applications in August 2021 alone.
M-Payment: payment by mobile phone
Today, it is possible to make our in-store payments via our smartphone, just by scanning a QR code. This type of transaction is called m-payment or mobile-payment.
In Mauritius, the shift to digital payments was particularly noticeable during the COVID-19 outbreak, which was marked by a growing use of mobile payment apps, an increase in the threshold for contactless payments offered by banks, and the launch of new payment platforms such as MCB Juice, SBM Easy Pay and my.t money.
In this article, we will introduce you to all the M-payment platforms available in Mauritius, with the features they have to offer.
SBM Easy Pay
This is the m-payment service of the State Bank of Mauritius (SBM). SBM Easy Pay is accessible via the mobile phone’s web browser or through an application to be downloaded onto the smartphone. It can be used to pay for purchases at partner stores, as well as water and electricity bills.
My.t Money
My.t money is the m-payment service of Mauritius Telecom. It also allows you to make payments in shops and online. My.t money can be used to pay water, electricity and telephone bills, and also allows money to be sent to another user. A plus: the application allows the sharing of a payment. So a group of friends or a couple who need to share a bill at a restaurant can use the app to make things easier for themselves! In addition, a my.t money account can manage up to four sub-accounts, which is ideal for families.
Emtel Cash
Emtel Cash is the m-payment system of Emtel. It allows you to pay your water, electricity and telephone bills. It can also be used to pay for purchases in partner stores and to top up mobile phone credit.
Pop
This is the latest Mauritian m-payment app. This is a Bank One application that aims to be universal. Thus, it is compatible with all banks in the country, and with all QR codes available in stores. To date, it is the only Mauritian payment platform that is universal, the other platforms all have their own QR codes.
Juice by MCB
Juice by MCB is the most used m-payment service in Mauritius today. Offered by the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB), it is available as an application. Juice allows payment at partner merchants via a QR code, money transfer to another user, bill payment and mobile phone credit top-up. The application also allows you to withdraw money from MCB’s ATMs without a bank card.
Today, the term “juice” has entered the Mauritian vocabulary, which shows how popular the platform is!
