Cash crisis pushes Libyans to virtual payments

When a cash crisis struck the war-torn North African country of Libya, many people were forced to queue for days to withdraw their savings.

But electronic payments systems set up to tackle the dearth of cash have struggled to gain credibility amid accusations of abuse.

Said Fayez Fadlallah, 35, uses a mobile phone app to pay for a trolley-full of groceries at a large supermarket in second city Benghazi.

"Now I don't have to spend hours or even days queueing at the bank to withdraw cash," he said. "They really solved a problem for us."

Years of violence and political chaos since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi have left Libya's state institutions in crisis -- including the central bank.

In 2014 it split into two, with the different branches overseen by rival governments in the west and east.

The resulting cash crisis, fuelled by spiralling inflation, caused huge queues to form at the banks and left many people unable to access their salaries.

In response, the banks have launched electronic payment systems.

source:AFP