# REPS

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/PG/reps
> research date 2026-10-19 · extracted at 2026-10-20
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

The **National Switch** is the hub at the centre of the Bank of Papua New Guinea's **Retail Electronic Payments System (REPS)**. It is why a local debit card from one PNG bank works at another member's ATM or EFTPOS terminal. BPNG runs it. It went live on 21 July 2019, and by July 2024 it linked eight banks, microbanks and savings and loan societies [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates). It carries card payments, not phone-number transfers: its instant payment service has processed nothing since September 2024.

| | |
|---|---|
| **Country** | Papua New Guinea (`PG`) |
| **What it is** | BPNG's national card switch, the core of REPS; runs 24/7 [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates) |
| **Members** | BSP, Westpac PNG, Kina Bank, CreditBank PNG, TISA Bank, NASFUND Contributors Savings & Loans (NCSL), MiBank, National Banking Corporation (NBC) [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates) |
| **Since** | 21 Jul 2019 [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates) |
| **Cost** | Set by your bank; Kina Bank charges K2.50 at other banks' ATMs in PNG [[2]](https://www.kinabank.com.pg/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2504070_KB_Fees-and-Charges-Document-September-2025.pdf) |
| **Usage** | 29.1 million domestic debit-card transactions in 2024; 17.0 million in 2025 [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates) |
| **Reaches** | Local debit cards at member ATMs and EFTPOS terminals inside PNG |
| **Code on paper?** | No. You use a card at a terminal; there is no REPS QR code |

## How the National Switch came to Papua New Guinea

Before the switch, PNG banks linked their ATM and EFTPOS networks to each other bank by bank, through bilateral agreements. A microfinance company or savings and loan society that wanted to issue cards depended on the big banks [[3]](https://www.thenational.com.pg/bpng-switch-gives-kina-bank-digital-reach/). BPNG's answer was one central switch that every institution could connect to.

- **April 2019:** Kina Bank said it was "the first bank to successfully connect" to the new switch [[3]](https://www.thenational.com.pg/bpng-switch-gives-kina-bank-digital-reach/).
- **21 July 2019: go-live** with three members: BSP, Kina Bank and NCSL [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates). BPNG said at the time that later phases would add smaller banks and deposit-taking institutions, and international networks such as Visa and Mastercard [[4]](https://www.centralbanking.com/central-banks/financial-stability/fmi/4429671/papua-new-guinea-upgrades-payment-system).
- **September 2019:** BPNG's statistics page says Westpac, NBC and MiBank joined on 1 September 2019 [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates). A 2021 report in *The National* gave the date as 2 September and named Westpac, MiBank and People's Micro Bank [[5]](https://www.thenational.com.pg/system-processed-24mil-activities/).
- **28 March 2021:** **Instant Payment Transactions (IPT)**, real-time digital payments, went live. Only the non-bank members (NCSL, MiBank and NBC) offered them [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates).
- **8 and 15 July 2024:** TISA Bank and CreditBank PNG joined, bringing the total to eight institutions [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates).
- **September 2024:** NCSL and NBC disconnected from the IPT service until BPNG completes its payments-strategy review and an IPT solution. No IPT transaction has gone through since [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates).
- **26 November 2024:** a disputes portal for card transactions went live, first with BSP and Kina Bank. All other members joined it in the first quarter of 2025 [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates).

**Usage.** By June 2026 the switch had processed K18,685.88 million (about K18.7 billion) since launch, by BPNG's table; BPNG's commentary rounds this to "over K18.7b" [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates). Yearly domestic debit-card transactions, from BPNG's table [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates):

| Year | Debit-card transactions | Instant payments (IPT) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 (from 21 Jul) | 4,336,050 | — |
| 2021 | 18,118,532 | 211 |
| 2023 | 28,611,453 | 570 |
| 2024 | 29,100,622 | 607 |
| 2025 | 17,017,618 | 0 |
| 2026 (Jan–Jun) | 5,899,829 | 0 |

The drop since 2024 has a cause: card traffic is leaving the switch. Kina Bank retired its local debit cards on 31 October 2024 and moved to Visa debit cards, which REPS does not capture. BPNG's charts also show a steep decline from January 2026, as BSP moved to its own chip cards and Westpac began issuing Visa cards after a rise in fraud from magstripe card cloning [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates).

## How to use it

There is nothing to sign up for. If your bank or savings society is a member, its local debit card works at any other member's ATMs and EFTPOS terminals [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates). Through the switch you can:

- **pay in a shop** at a member's EFTPOS terminal, including **purchase plus cashback**: pay by card and take cash out in the same transaction [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates);
- **withdraw cash** at a member's ATM;
- **check your balance** at an ATM or EFTPOS terminal. BPNG introduced the EFTPOS balance check in April 2021, and its statistics show more cardholders use it than the ATM one [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates).

MiBank card transactions take a different path: since August 2020 they are routed through Kina Bank, under a business arrangement between the two [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates).

## Limits and fees

The fees BPNG publishes are what members pay it; each bank sets its own card fees for customers. From 1 April 2025, the three tier-1 members (BSP, Westpac and Kina Bank) pay a REPS annual fee of K150,000, up from K75,000. Smaller members still pay K75,000. The per-transaction switching fee rose from 10 toea to 20 toea for all members from 1 July 2025 [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates).

What a customer pays depends on the bank. Kina Bank's September 2025 schedule, for example, charges K2.50 to withdraw at another bank's ATM in PNG. It notes that the other bank may add its own fee [[2]](https://www.kinabank.com.pg/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2504070_KB_Fees-and-Charges-Document-September-2025.pdf). Card limits are also set by your bank.

Fees change; check your bank's current fee schedule.

## Paying shops and businesses

The switch is what lets a shop's EFTPOS terminal from one member accept a local debit card from another, for purchases and cashback [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates). In 2019, Kina Bank's CEO said it would remove "barriers to entry for smaller financial institutions who offer their own cards or Eftpos and ATM services" [[3]](https://www.thenational.com.pg/bpng-switch-gives-kina-bank-digital-reach/).

Instant payments for businesses are not offered. BPNG says commercial banks and mobile network operators will be added to REPS after the review of the National Payments Strategy 2024–2026 is completed and implemented. The BPNG Board approved a revised strategy in August 2025, and its operational plan had not been published by June 2026 [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates).

## Paying across borders

The National Switch is domestic. In 2019 BPNG named Visa and Mastercard as networks to bring on in later phases [[4]](https://www.centralbanking.com/central-banks/financial-stability/fmi/4429671/papua-new-guinea-upgrades-payment-system). BPNG's 2026 statistics page lists no international network among the members. It says the Kina Bank Visa debit cards issued since October 2024 are not captured by REPS [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates). To pay abroad from PNG, you use a card on an international network such as Visa, for example through [Kina Pei](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/PG/kina-pei).

## Is there a National Switch QR code in Papua New Guinea?

No. REPS processes card transactions at ATMs and EFTPOS terminals, plus the dormant instant payments [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates). BPNG doesn't describe any QR code for it, and Papua New Guinea has no national payment QR standard that we could source. The QR codes in BPNG's [Digital Kina](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/PG/digital-kina) trial were separate from REPS, and their format has not been published. The international merchant QR layout used by many national schemes is the [EMVCo merchant-presented QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/emvco-mpm). No PNG scheme has published that it uses it.

## Safety: card skimming and cloning

BPNG ties part of the 2026 drop in switch traffic to fraud: banks moved off magstripe cards because "magstripe card cloning" was rising [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates). Skimming is a device fitted to an ATM or EFTPOS terminal that steals card details and PINs. Kina Bank gives these rules against it [[6]](https://www.kinabank.com.pg/fraud-prevention/card-safety/):

- Check ATMs and EFTPOS machines for damage, tampering, cameras or attached devices before you use them.
- Avoid ATMs in dimly lit or deserted places.
- Check your card charges regularly and call your bank about anything unusual. Only you should know your PIN.

## The National Switch and the alternatives in Papua New Guinea

| Way to pay | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Local debit card over the National Switch** | Shops, cash, cashback at any member's terminal | 8 member institutions [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates) |
| **Visa debit card** (e.g. Kina Bank since Oct 2024) | Shops in PNG and abroad | Runs on Visa, outside REPS [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates) |
| **[Kina Pei](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/PG/kina-pei)** | Tapping your phone in shops | Kina Bank Visa cards on Android NFC phones |
| **Interbank transfer (KATS)** | Transfers between banks | The Kina Automated Transfer System, BPNG's other core payment system [[1]](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates) |
| **[Digital Kina](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/PG/digital-kina)** | Not yet available | BPNG's central bank digital currency trial |

## Sources

1. Bank of Papua New Guinea, "REPS Monthly Statistics Updates" (Payment Systems Department, 8 Jun 2026), Internet Archive copy of 6 Sep 2026, read 19 Oct 2026 (bankpng.gov.pg refused direct fetches). <https://web.archive.org/web/20260906105858/https://www.bankpng.gov.pg/publications/reps-monthly-statistics-updates>
2. Kina Bank, "Fees and Charges", September 2025. <https://www.kinabank.com.pg/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2504070_KB_Fees-and-Charges-Document-September-2025.pdf>
3. The National, "BPNG switch gives Kina Bank digital reach", 15 Apr 2019. <https://www.thenational.com.pg/bpng-switch-gives-kina-bank-digital-reach/>
4. Central Banking, "Papua New Guinea upgrades payment system", 13 Sep 2019 (paywalled; only the opening paragraphs were read). <https://www.centralbanking.com/central-banks/financial-stability/fmi/4429671/papua-new-guinea-upgrades-payment-system>
5. The National, "System processed 24mil activities", 5 Jul 2021. <https://www.thenational.com.pg/system-processed-24mil-activities/>
6. Kina Bank, "Card Safety", read 19 Oct 2026. <https://www.kinabank.com.pg/fraud-prevention/card-safety/>

*Researched 19 October 2026. Members, fees and statistics change; the Bank of Papua New Guinea's own pages are authoritative.*