Standards/cbs-qr
CBS QR
Overview
CBS QR refers to Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS)' QR-payment initiative, sitting within the broader Seychelles Electronic Funds Transfer (SEFT) system — Seychelles' national interbank-funds-transfer infrastructure structured and regulated by CBS [1, 2, [sc-cro]]. SEFT facilitates domestic Seychelles-rupee money transfers through a secure online communication channel among all Seychelles banks + the Seychelles Credit Union (SCU). It also supports payments from banking institutions to Payment Service Providers (PSPs) such as PayPal and Google Wallet.
The QR-payment dimension is in experimental/developing phase — CBS QR appears to be CBS's emerging QR-payment standard intended to ride on or complement the SEFT rail. The Seychellois context is structurally interesting: Seychelles is one of Africa's most-developed tourism-economy small-island states (~98K population), with significant cruise-tourism + luxury-tourism reliance. QR-payment infrastructure for tourism-payment acceptance is a strategic priority. ProgressSoft's Electronic Fund Transfer Solution powers SEFT — providing the underlying technology. The system is entirely Seychelles-hosted, providing common platform for participating bank members.
History
Background — Seychellois payment landscape SC:
- Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) — central bank.
- Small banking sector (~5-6 commercial banks).
- Tourism-dependent economy.
SEFT system establishment [2]:
- Structured + regulated by CBS.
- All banks + Seychelles Credit Union (SCU).
ProgressSoft technology [[progressoft]]:
- CBS runs live ProgressSoft's Electronic Fund Transfer Solution.
PSP integration:
- SEFT supports bank-to-PSP payments (PayPal, Google Wallet).
CBS QR experimental phase SC:
- CBS QR / SEFT QR in developing stage.
- Specific launch date + adoption metrics not publicly detailed.
Technical specification
CBS QR / SEFT is CBS-regulated interbank EFT + emerging QR layer [1, 2]:
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Coordinator | Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) |
| System name | SEFT (Seychelles Electronic Funds Transfer) |
| Technology | ProgressSoft Electronic Fund Transfer Solution |
| Currency | SCR (Seychelles rupee) |
| Participants | All Seychelles banks + Seychelles Credit Union |
| Hosting | Seychelles-hosted |
| PSP integration | PayPal, Google Wallet |
| QR layer | Experimental/developing |
Security [2]:
- Username + password + bank short name + CAPTCHA.
- 6-digit OTP via SMS for each login.
Use cases
Domestic Seychelles-rupee bank transfers [2]: Cardinal SEFT use.
Bank-to-PSP payments (PayPal, Google Wallet) [2]: Distinctive feature.
QR-payment acceptance (developing) SC: Tourism-focused future expansion.
Cross-bank within Seychelles [1]: Inter-bank fund movement.
Implementations & ecosystem
Coordinator: Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS).
Technology partner: ProgressSoft (Jordan-based EFT solutions provider).
Participants:
- Seychelles Credit Union (SCU).
- Seychelles commercial banks (Mauritius Commercial Bank Seychelles, Absa Seychelles, Bank of Ceylon Seychelles, Seychelles Commercial Bank, others).
PSPs: PayPal, Google Wallet.
Fun facts
- ProgressSoft technology: Jordan-based EFT solutions provider — illustrates global fintech-tech vendor reach into small economies.
- PayPal + Google Wallet integration: Unusual structural feature — SEFT directly supports bank-to-major-international-PSP payments. Tourism-economy-aligned.
- Seychelles small economy: ~98K population — extreme small-island economy.
- Tourism dependence: ~25-30 % GDP from tourism — payment-system infrastructure tourism-aligned.
- CBS QR developing phase: Limited public documentation reflects early-stage status.
- SEFT entirely Seychelles-hosted: Local sovereignty consideration.
Comparison
| Feature | CBS QR / SEFT (SC) | mips-qr (MU) | maucas-qr (MU) | m-paisa-qr (FJ) | bml-mobilepay (MV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | CBS | MIPS | BoM | Vodafone Fiji | Bank of Maldives |
| Type | Interbank EFT + QR (developing) | Universal payment-orchestration | Central-bank switch | MNO mobile money | Bank mobile-banking |
| Currency | SCR | MUR | MUR | FJD | MVR + USD |
| Population | 98K | 1.3M | 1.3M | 900K | 520K |
Status
Active SEFT, developing QR layer [1, 2]:
- CBS-regulated SEFT operational.
- CBS QR experimental/developing.
- ProgressSoft technology.
- All Seychelles banks + SCU + PSP integrations.
Sources
- 1 Central Bank of Seychelles
- 2 Seychelles EFT
- 3 CBS × ProgressSoft
- [sc-cro]
reports/countries/SC-seychelles.md
Deployments
No country reports mention this standard by name.