Tuesday 18 / November / 2025
Muscat: The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has announced the approved fee structure for the national payment card “Maal” consumer Debit and Prepaid card. The move reflects the Sultanate of Oman’s ongoing efforts to establish a more efficient national payment ecosystem.
The initiative aims to strengthen the national payments framework by reducing costs for banks, merchants, and payment service providers (PSPs), while expanding the use of digital payment methods across various economic sectors.
This decision falls within the CBO’s broader efforts to support the digital transformation of the national financial infrastructure and to expand access to electronic payments and financial inclusion.
The approved framework includes a full exemption from card issuance and reissuance fees by banks and PSPs, in addition to waiving annual fees for cardholders. Hence, “Maal” consumer debit and prepaid cards will be offered at Zero fees to customers, while ATM cash withdrawal and related service fees will remain to the existing regulations and directives issued by CBO.
This initiative reflects the CBO’s commitment for enabling individuals to access a low-cost national payment card that allows them to perform transactions within the Sultanate of Oman easily, securely, and efficiently.
Further, as part of CBO’s efforts to ensure affordable and efficient payment solutions, no fees will be imposed during the initial phase on banks and PSPs for using the OmanNet infrastructure to issue and process “Maal” card transactions, aligning with the broader objective of reducing card payment costs across the ecosystem.
Under the “Maal” pricing framework, CBO has introduced lower and more affordable capped limits for the Merchant Service Fee (MSF) applied to transactions made using “Maal” cards, whether debit or prepaid, through point-of-sale (POS) terminals and e-commerce payment gateways.
The “Maal” card fee structure also includes specially tailored capped limits that reflect the nature of different categories of institutions and merchants. This includes a lower cap for government entities, fixed fees for transactions carried out by money exchange and remittance companies, and preferential rates for small and medium enterprises holding the “Riyada” card issued by the SMEs Development Authority. Charitable organizations have also been fully exempted from all fees when accepting zakat, sadaqat and donations, in support of their social role.
This aims to ensure access to electronic payment services for all customer segments and to promote the wider adoption of digital payments across the Sultanate of Oman.
CBO stated that this initiative aligns with its commitment to provide affordable and accessible national payment services, thereby enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of the payments ecosystem and supporting innovation and diversity in digital financial services.
The new framework will significantly reduce payment acceptance costs for merchants and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), by up to 50% compared to other cards. This transformative step will accelerate the shift toward digital payments, drive stronger growth in e-commerce and digital services, and support building a society that is less dependent on cash.
It is worth noting that the “Maal” card represents one of the core pillars of CBO’s strategy to build an integrated, nationally managed payment system operated through the OmanNet network. This system enables individuals and institutions to conduct transactions within the Sultanate of Oman with high efficiency and at lower cost.
The introduction of the new “Maal” card fee structure is expected to have a tangible impact on the development of national payment services, expanding their accessibility and promoting financial inclusion, while reducing financial burdens on citizens, government entities and the merchants. These efforts align with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040 to foster a sustainable and inclusive digital economy.The announcement of “Maal” card fee structure comes in conjunction with the announcement of the pilot launch of the card on 20 November 2025, coinciding with the celebration of Oman’s National Day.
During the soft-launch phase, majority of ATMs and e-commerce payment gateways will be ready to accept “Maal” transactions. However, some users may encounter number of POS terminals that are not yet fully ready to accept “Maal” card, as banks continue to gradually update and enable their POS devices. The initial phase will focus on the most frequently used POS terminals and locations with higher transaction activity.
Several banks will soon announce the start of issuing the card to their customers, with wider issuance and acceptance expanding gradually in the period that follows.
