Common Monetary Area (CMA) Payments / Collections
On 14 October 2022, the Bank of Namibia issued a Determination on the Conduct of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) transactions in the National Payment System (PSD-9). PSD-9 regulates the conduct of EFT transactions in the National Payment System with the objective of ensuring safety, security, and efficiency of these transactions.
Payments to the Common Monetary Area (i.e., South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho) are required to be processed as true cross border transactions, with payment reason codes (i.e., Balance of Payments (BoP) reporting) enforced. All payment flows between countries within the CMA, will be done via foreign exchange and will no longer be processed via EFT rails.
The change effects all Namibian banking clients making and receiving payments to/from the CMA countries.
Effective Date: 9 Sept 2024
Key changes to be noted:
- Payments to CMA countries will be processed via Foreign Exchange solution available on Internet Banking and Enterprise Online.
- CMA payments will be applicable to relevant foreign exchange pricing and SADC RTGS cut off times.
| Processing Days | Cut off time |
| Weekdays | 14:30 |
| Weekends & Public Holidays | No Processing, will be processed the next business day |
- Both outward and inward transactions will require transaction reason codes (BoP Codes) - see more detail on BoP reporting below.
- Outward transaction - Payments to CMA, client will have to stipulate payment reason code on the channel (Internet Banking and Enterprise Online) when making the payment.
- Inward transactions - Payments coming in from CMA, client will receive a notification to provide pay- ment reason code (BoP code) for funds to be released.
- Cross border direct debits will no longer be allowed. (Clients are advised to honor their direct debits via credit payments as per previous communication).
- Client and beneficiaries can expect longer turnaround times on clearing and settlement of funds.
Balance of Payment Reporting (BoP)
Balance of Payment Reporting (BoP Reporting) is an electronic reporting system used to report cross-border transactions to the Bank of Namibia.
BoP reporting will be applicable to all outward and inward transactions on the banking payment channels.
Example of Outward BoP reporting:
Client paying University Tuition Fees to CMA country, the reason code to be selected for this payment would be:
- BoP code 285 – Tuition Fees
Example of Inward Payment BoP reporting:
Client / Beneficiary receiving a credit payment form CMA country — will have to declare the reason for received funds / payment. For instance, beneficiary receives payment for Dividend receipts, the BoP/reason code for this payment would be:
- BoP code 301 - Dividends
For more information on BoP codes kindly refer to the Bank of Namibia website
For breakdown of BoP codes kindly click here:
Should you have any questions or uncertainty regarding the implementation of PSD-9/CMA, please contact our Customer Service Team on 061 294 2126/2366, 92860 , alternatively get in touch with your Relationship Manager.