How do people in Fiji pay online?
Most adults in Fiji have a bank account. The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) reports, from its Demand Side Survey 2020, that bank account ownership rose from 60% to 78% of adults, and that 81% had a formal financial account. Cash is still the habit: the same strategy notes that 88% of Fijian adults preferred cash to digital payments, and that internet banking and mobile banking were used by only 30% and 21% of banked adults. The World Bank puts internet use at 74.7% of the population in 2024.
Cards are the most direct way to pay a website. Banks issue Visa and Mastercard debit cards; ANZ Fiji, for example, says its Visa Debit Card can be used online, in stores and overseas wherever Visa is accepted.
Mobile wallets are the other large channel. M-PAiSA and MyCash are the two main wallets. In 2020, 62% of adults had registered for mobile money and 27% used it actively within 90 days. The Fiji Times, reporting the ATH Group annual report, said M-PAiSA processed over FJD 6 billion in transactions in the year to 30 June 2025. Since October 2024 both wallets connect to bank accounts through FIJICLEAR, the national payment system, so customers can move money instantly between wallets and banks and between M-PAiSA and MyCash, and businesses can accept wallet payments and send them to their bank account.
Google Pay is on Google’s list of countries where people can pay online and in apps. Apple Pay is not on Apple’s list for Fiji.
What rules shape online payments in Fiji?
VAT is 12.5%. The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) applies the 12.5% rate from 1 August 2025 to goods and services other than exempt and zero-rated items. A business must register when its annual gross turnover passes FJD 100,000.
Payment services need a licence. The National Payment System Act 2021 took effect on 30 September 2022. Anyone issuing e-money, acquiring merchants, or offering domestic or cross-border money transfers must apply to the RBF for a payment service provider licence; licensed banks are exempt.
QR payments are being standardised. In May 2026 the RBF issued guidelines for the Fiji QR Code Scheme, a national interoperable standard for static merchant-presented QR codes built on the EMV QR specification. Dynamic and customer-presented codes are planned for later.
Exchange controls still apply. The RBF administers them under the Exchange Control Act. It says almost all payments for imports of goods and services are delegated to the commercial banks, while some flows, such as profit transfers by foreign companies, need RBF approval.
How would Omno route payments in Fiji?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency, amount and customer group. In Fiji:
- Card payments in FJD would be routed by BIN to a provider that acquires Visa and Mastercard, with cascading to the next provider in the rule if one is unavailable or rejects the request.
- Mobile wallet payments would go to a provider connected to M-PAiSA or MyCash, with the order held until the wallet confirms.
- Google Pay would be offered on the hosted checkout as a card payment, routed under the same card rules.
- Bank and QR payments could be added as providers join the national QR scheme, with webhooks reporting each final status.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for cards and wallets side by side. Cards reach banked shoppers online, and wallets reach the many adults who use mobile money.
Plan for VAT at 12.5%. Check whether your Fiji turnover passes the FJD 100,000 registration threshold.
Plan for the provider’s licence. Payment services in Fiji are licensed by the RBF under the National Payment System Act 2021.
Plan for FX. Payments for imports of goods and services run through commercial banks under delegated exchange control limits.