How does a MIA payment work?
MIA moves money from the shopper’s account to the merchant’s account in seconds. The National Bank of Moldova says a transfer takes at most 10 seconds and that the service is available 24 hours a day, every day. People can pay each other using only a phone number, from any participating financial app in Moldova.
Merchants accept MIA in three main ways. In a shop, the shopper scans a QR code with their banking app. A dynamic QR code is created for one purchase and is valid for a limited time, while a static QR code can be used again, with a fixed amount or an amount the shopper enters. A merchant can also send a request to pay, which the shopper approves in their app.
Online, MIA is a payment button. The National Bank’s answers for businesses say online stores integrate the MIA payment button through their bank or payment provider. The shopper picks MIA at checkout, scans the QR code on a computer or opens their banking app on a phone, checks the merchant and the amount, and approves. The merchant’s bank or provider then confirms the payment.
For individuals, the MIA site lists a limit of MDL 5,000 per transaction.
Why does MIA matter for merchants?
It is run by the central bank and open to every participant. MIA launched on 12 March 2024 with 10 banks and 4 payment institutions, and merchants have been able to accept it since 31 July 2024. Because it is national infrastructure, a shopper can pay from whichever participating bank or payment institution they use.
Its use is growing quickly. In 2025 MIA handled 15.1 million transactions worth MDL 13.3 billion. By 31 July 2026 it had more than 985,000 registered users, more than 11,000 merchants and more than 23,000 acceptance points, and handled about 2 million transactions a month. In September 2026 the National Bank reported more than 1 million users, and in March 2026 it said about one in two Moldovans with a bank account used MIA. The system keeps widening: payments to government arrived on 31 July 2025, and instant transfers between companies on 2 March 2026.
Its fees are published. The National Bank’s list sets the merchant fee at 0.7% for most businesses, including e-commerce, restaurants and retail, and 0.5% for social services such as public transport, hospitals, education and utility payments. For high-risk businesses the payment provider sets the rate. Card payments in Moldova cost merchants more than interchange alone: the cap on interchange is 0.50% for debit and 0.60% for credit cards, before acquirer and scheme fees.
What can go wrong?
The shopper may not complete the payment. A dynamic QR code is valid only for a limited time, and a shopper who switches to the banking app and does not approve leaves the order unpaid. The checkout needs a pending state and a way to show a new code.
Amounts can exceed limits. The MDL 5,000 limit listed for individuals, and any limits the shopper’s own bank applies, can stop larger orders, so a card option should stay next to MIA.
Refunds need confirming with the provider. MIA is a credit transfer, and the National Bank’s public pages do not describe a refund process for merchant payments, so a merchant should confirm with its bank or provider how refunds are sent and how they are matched to the original payment. There is no card-scheme chargeback.
Access goes through a local bank or provider. MIA is reached through a Moldovan participant, so a foreign merchant needs a partner that offers the MIA payment button.
How would Omno handle MIA?
A merchant would offer MIA in the hosted checkout or through Direct Links on its own checkout, showing the QR code on a computer and opening the banking app on a phone. The merchant’s routing rules would send the payment to a bank or provider that offers the MIA payment button, and in the hosted checkout, if that provider is unavailable or rejects the request, the payment would move to the next provider in the rule until one accepts. The order would stay pending until the provider reports a final status, and the result would reach the merchant by webhook, which is the source of truth for confirming an order. The routing-decision log would record which provider handled each step.