The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) hailed Sunday as a success its new national payment system that began operations in August, saying the new system handled transactions worth over 4.6 billion Bahraini dinars (12.2 billion US dollars) last month. According to the CBB, the new payment system has dramatically speeded up the flow of money into Bahrain's economy, enabling more efficient utilization of financial resources by businesses and individuals. Under the new system funds transfers are taking place instantly, utilizing the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), an online, real-time and secure system now being used by Bahrain's retail banks for electronic payments made on their customers' account or on their own account, DPA reported. The RTGS system which began phased operations in June 2007, became fully operational on 9th August 2007. The system facilitates customer fund transfers and inter-bank fund transfers.
