The Central Bank of Barbados has launched a new national instant payment system that allows individuals, businesses and government agencies to send and receive money instantly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Known as BiMPay, the platform went live just before midnight on Friday, and processed nearly BDS$8 million (US$4 million) through more than 20 000 transactions within its first two days of operation, according to the Bank.
The system, which had been under development for two years, is designed to enable users to transfer funds between participating financial institutions in real time, eliminating the need to wait for payments to clear. Six commercial banks, three credit unions, the Barbados Stock Exchange and the Accountant General’s Office are already connected to the platform.
Although the rollout experienced some initial registration issues, particularly for users with Gmail accounts, Central Bank Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge said the problems were quickly addressed.
He explained that shortly after launch, Google mistakenly flagged a surge of registration emails as potential spam after approximately 12 000 people downloaded the app within the first hour.
Despite the issue, Greenidge reported a success rate of more than 99 per cent.
“In a system that has now launched this is a very high success rate – 99 per cent of all those 2 000 transactions with a combined value of $8m were successful,” he said.
Officials said work is already underway on a second phase that will bring additional financial institutions and government agencies onto the platform, including the National Insurance and Social Security Service.
However, authorities have not announced a timeline for that expansion, saying additional standardisation work must first be completed to ensure transactions can be processed seamlessly across all participating entities.
Speaking at the launch last Friday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley described the initiative as a major step in Barbados’ digital transformation.
“When a country sleeps, it loses opportunity,” she said after completing the first live transaction using the platform.
Mottley said the payment system would make it easier for people and businesses to conduct transactions at any time while helping small operators build digital financial records that could improve access to credit.
The Prime Minister also suggested the system could help reduce opportunities for crime by reducing reliance on cash transactions.
The BiMPay launch comes at a time when countries across the Caribbean continue exploring digital payment solutions aimed at improving financial inclusion, reducing cash dependence and making transactions faster and more convenient for consumers and businesses.
