WHILE mobile wallets have been in existence in Fiji sine 2010, it has been revealed that person-to-person transfers have skyrocketed since 2020 with 57 million transactions totaling $2.9 billion last year.
This was revealed by Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) governor Ariff Ali at the launch of BSP Bank’s mobile wallet eDollar in Suva yesterday, who said they expected this exponential growth to continue based on the trend so far this year.
Similarly, Mr Ali said bank-to-wallet and wallet-to-bank transfers had also surged, while inward remittances via mobile networks now accounted for more than half of the $1.3b in annual inflows recorded last year.
He said the value of personal wallets to businesses using QR codes had also increased by almost 700 per cent in the past five years – from $86m in 2021 to $672m in 2025.
He said the number of transactions increased almost tenfold from 1.6m to 15.4m in the same period.
He added that data for the first half of 2026 revealed that QR code payments had increased by more than 44 per cent in both value and numbers over the corresponding period last year.
“For internet banking, both the value and volume have risen more than tenfold since 2015,” Mr Ali said.
“These trends clearly demonstrate that Fijians are embracing digital financial services and are ready for the next generation of payment solutions.”
Mr Ali cited the Financial Services Demand Survey Report 2025 – launched last week – that highlighted increasing digital readiness, greater mobile phone ownership, stronger demand for convenient financial services and growing consumer confidence in using digital financial products.
“The survey results revealed a significant increase in the uptake of digital channels among Fijian households, with mobile money account ownership increasing from 17 per cent in 2020 to 67 per cent in 2025.”
Mr Ali said on average, 41 per cent of banked Fijians reported having access to internet banking, representing a 30-percentage point increase from 2020.
He said the results also showed that 73 per cent of banked Fijians also owned a mobile money account.
“This tells us that customers are not necessarily choosing between banks and digital wallets. Many are using both.
“These findings confirm that the market is ready for innovations such as today’s e-wallet and that this launch comes at exactly the perfect time.”
