Instant payments widen value lead over OmanNet

Oman’s instant-payment system sharply widened its value lead over the national OmanNet card network during the first half of 2026, as account-to-account payments grew considerably faster than card-network activity.

The Mobile Payments Clearing and Switching System (MPCSS) handled 224.2 million transactions worth RO 8.218 billion during the six months, according to Central Bank of Oman data. Transaction volume rose 49 per cent from a year earlier, while value increased 72 per cent.

OmanNet, which covers point-of-sale terminals, ATMs and the domestic e-commerce payment gateway, processed more transactions but carried substantially less value.

It handled 359.5 million transactions worth RO 4.71 billion, with volume rising 34 per cent and value increasing 10 per cent. The two systems were carrying broadly similar value a year earlier.

MPCSS processed RO 4.765 billion in the first half of 2025, compared with around RO 4.3 billion through OmanNet, based on Observer calculations from the reported growth rates. By the first half of 2026, MPCSS was carrying roughly RO 3.5 billion more.

Across Oman’s retail payment systems, 606.5 million transactions worth RO 29.2 billion were processed during the first half. Transaction numbers rose 38 per cent year on year, compared with a 28 per cent increase in value.

The Automated Clearing House (ACH), which handles services including direct credits, direct debits and recurring payments, processed 20.85 million transactions worth RO 10.83 billion, up 24 per cent by volume and 25 per cent by value.

INSTANT-PAYMENT VALUES RISE

The average transaction processed through MPCSS rose to around RO 36.7 during the first half of 2026, from about RO 31.6 a year earlier, based on Observer calculations using the reported CBO figures.

The system supports person-to-person, person-to-business and person-to-government payments. Published figures do not separate those categories, so the increase cannot be attributed specifically to greater business payments or to transfers between individuals.

POS TAKES LARGER SHARE

The most recent detailed OmanNet channel breakdown in the CBO’s National Payment Systems Annual Report covers 2024.

Point-of-sale transactions accounted for 80 per cent of OmanNet transaction volume in 2024, up from 74 per cent in 2023. ATM activity declined to 8 per cent from 11 per cent, while e-commerce accounted for 12 per cent, down from 15 per cent.

The figures require careful interpretation. OmanNet’s ATM channel supports functions other than cash withdrawal, including account transfers and balance enquiries.

The CBO does not publish the composition of the ATM category in its payment statistics, so a fall in ATM’s share cannot be read as an equivalent decline in cash withdrawals. OmanNet also combines POS, ATM and e-commerce activity.

Changes in the relative weight of those channels can alter the network’s overall average transaction value even if the amount consumers spend per shop purchase remains unchanged. The CBO material reviewed for this report does not provide an equivalent POS, ATM and e-commerce breakdown for the first half of 2026.

JULY REFORMS COME LATER

The first-half figures pre-date the CBO’s latest payment-fee reforms.

From July 1, 2026, local digital fund transfers through national payment systems became free for retail customers and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The maximum merchant service fee for QR-based Scan and Pay transactions was also reduced to 0.50 per cent from 0.75 per cent, capped at RO 2 per transaction.

Those measures therefore cannot have contributed to the growth recorded between January and June. Second-half data will be the first to reflect activity under the new fee structure.

The timing is particularly relevant to smaller businesses, where payment-acceptance costs can weigh more heavily on narrow margins.

PAYMENT MIX CHANGES

The CBO has described rising volumes and values across ACH, MPCSS and OmanNet as part of Oman’s continued movement towards a society less dependent on cash, while electronic cheque-clearing volumes and values have continued to decline.

OmanNet processed around 135 million more transactions than MPCSS during the first half, but MPCSS carried roughly RO 3.5 billion more in value. That widening divergence is one of the clearest features of Oman’s latest payment data.