Samoa is making deliberate progress toward becoming a cashless economy, though challenges such as public adoption, platform integration, and legislative gaps continue to slow the journey. 

This update comes as government bodies, the private sector, and community initiatives push to modernise financial transactions through digital means.

Fa’asootauloa Sam Saili, the President of the Samoa Chamber of Commerce, shared insights in an interview about the current landscape of e-commerce and digital payments in the country. 

“There’s quite a lot of initiatives underway, especially on the policy and legislation side, which is where we should start from,” he explained.

Key areas of development include the creation of an e-commerce policy, a national digital ID system, and data privacy legislation. These foundational tools are seen as critical to enabling safe and trusted digital transactions. Currently, the Telecommunications Act only briefly touches on digital payments, with broader, more comprehensive legislation still in development.

The Chamber of Commerce is working closely with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour to shape these policies with a focus on protecting consumers, enabling interoperability between platforms, and addressing concerns around fraud and cybercrime.

While digital platforms like SkyEye’s Maua  App and Seki Eats offer full E-commerce services from ordering to delivery and mobile payment, overall public adoption remains limited. Other platforms such as Samoa Market and MySamoa are more popular among overseas buyers purchasing for pickup in Samoa.

Mobile wallets such as Digicel’s MyCash and Vodafone’s M-Tala have gained some traction, particularly for bill payments like electricity (cash power). Traditional banks continue to support card payments through EFTPOS and tap-to-pay solutions, while QR code payments have been introduced by Samoa Commercial Bank.

Still, a major technical barrier remains the lack of integration between platforms. “If someone has M-Tala, they can’t pay someone on MyCash,” Fa’asootauloa noted. “The platforms are operating in silos, and that’s holding back broader adoption.”

Another major hurdle is public trust and awareness. Many Samoans, especially rural populations and older generations, are unfamiliar with digital payment tools and sceptical of e-commerce. “They don’t trust digital platforms yet,” Sa’i said. “They prefer to physically see a product and hand over cash.”

Fa’asootauloa emphasised the need for more education campaigns, digital literacy training, and hands-on support to encourage adoption, particularly for farmers and small vendors. He also noted that the high cost of platform fees and mobile devices remains a barrier for many.

The Samoa Chamber of Commerce, through its Business Link Pacific (BLP) initiative, has been actively supporting small businesses with training, funding, and co-financing of digital solutions. 

The Chamber also ensures that businesses are informed of new digital services through monthly meetings and training sessions, and it often facilitates direct access to international experts for upskilling and advisory support.

Fa’asootauloa believes the biggest benefit Samoa is currently missing out on is operational efficiency. “Digital systems reduce handling risks, improve reconciliation, and allow businesses to scale without physical limits,” he said.

However, Samoa’s geographic smallness and cultural habits also play a role. “If someone’s going that way later in the day, they’ll just go buy it instead of ordering online,” Fa’asootauloa remarked, pointing out how delivery logistics in a small island economy don’t always create enough value to justify e-commerce use.

Despite these realities, he is optimistic. “The last five years have shown more progress than the previous,” he said but added that full cashless transformation is unlikely in the short term.

The goal now is not full replacement of cash, but interoperability, inclusivity, and building trust. With continued investment in policy, infrastructure, and public awareness, Samoa could become a regional example of how small island nations navigate the digital shift one step at a time.

While the government has focused on legislation and running workshops to promote digital transformation, there has been a noticeable lack of direct support for the private sector, according to the Samoa Chamber of Commerce.

Fa’asootauloa said, “There hasn’t been any assistance from the government to the private sector to boost the digital transformation.”

He noted that although industries like tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing receive various forms of support, “for the digitisation side of things, there hasn’t been any assistance. That would be something that would even help more in terms of the transformation and the transition. Hopefully, the government will look at that.”