The National Bank of Moldova has received the “Debut of the Year 2024” trophy for its MIA Instant Payments project at the national Brand of the Year awards organised by Moldova’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry in partnership with the State Agency on Intellectual Property. MIA, launched on 12 March 2024, enables near-real-time money transfers 24/7 at minimal cost, including free transfers in some cases. The central bank reported more than 600,000 active users and over one million transactions per month within a year of launch, and said that the volume of electronic payments has, for the first time in Moldova, exceeded cash withdrawals from ATMs.