Immediate payments will be made with cell phone number

Peruvians can now make payments from any bank, savings bank, financial institution or digital wallet using only the recipient’s cell phone number, so that it will no longer be mandatory to enter the 20 digits of the interbank account code (CCI), although it will continue to operate. at the free choice of users.

It is expected that at the end of the year the 160 million of immediate transactions, and by 2024 it will exceed 200 million, according to the Electronic Clearing House (CCE), a platform that functions as an intermediary between companies in the Finance system and through which almost 95% of the transfers made in the country pass.

It is not necessary to have a savings account

As of today, there are 24 entities that participate in interoperability, as established by the Central Reserve Bank (BCRP), and by December of this year another five will be added, including electronic money issuers. To be enabled to receive or send money only with the cell phone number, the entities will be responsible for requesting voluntary affiliation from each user. just one click away.

Another benefit is that payments can be made in supermarkets or retail stores through a QR code. They only have to open the application of the financial institution to which they are affiliated and they will be able to scan the code. In this way, one more option is added to those already existing in these businesses, such as cash or credit or debit cards. In addition, it is not mandatory to have a savings account, as some digital wallets can already be used by registering the DNI number.

“We are uniting the world of the banked with the unbanked. That is something new for us because we are adding wallets that were previously independent and isolated systems. The idea of ​​the entire ecosystem is finally the fight against cashbecause in Peru 80% of payments are made in cash,” he explained to La República Christine MurManager of Marketing and Commerce Department of the CCE.

The functionality allows payments to be made 24 hours a day and the amounts per transaction range between S/1 and S/500 as a limit, although this will depend on each entity, considering that the CCE allows transfers up to S/30,000 in each operation.

Mass collections and payments for 2024

After interoperability, the CCE hopes to implement the payment request functionality, which could be used, for example, to collect electricity or water bills, and would be launched in the first half of 2024.

Then will come massive payments, so that companies can pay payrolls and suppliers immediately or not on a deferred basis, as happens today.

The word

Martín Santa María, CEO of the Electronic Clearing House

“The idea is also promote competition. With more participants who can talk to each other, who is going to attract the most customers? “The one with the best value proposition.”