Gov’t seeking to reduce BVI’s over-reliance on cash transactions
The BVI will soon be moving away from cash transactions if all goes as planned for the territory’s leadership.
The BVI Financial Services Commission is working to facilitate the establishment of an electronic payment system for the BVI, Premier Andrew Fahie revealed recently.
The Premier said the project will be executed in two parts. The first of those parts is an electronic settlement system for cheques. Fahie said this will be established among the seven local banks.
According to the Premier, this will allow for cheques to be cleared, settled or returned within 24 hours of presentation.
The second part is the establishment of an electronic settlement system for all other forms of payment.
International transactions
According to the Premier, the second option will extend the platform used for electronic settlement of cheques to include the offering of international ACH payment options.
He explained that this would include a wider acceptance of debit cards transactions and see the introduction of electronic purse wallet transactions.
This step would also allow for the settlement of such transactions within 24 hours.
“The aim of this initiative is to encourage greater use of electronic transactions at lower cost, thus reducing the over-reliance on cash transactions,“ Premier Fahie related.
He said these measures are all pushing the BVI forward with its digital economy.
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Get ready for the digital ID…sign up or be excluded from society.
“419 Scam Alert”
Search that page on FB
Why should we pay extra to card companies when it’s always cheaper with cash?
Didn’t they already try to tax western union transfers? Why not adopt a digital currency or allow everyone to pay through what ever platform they wish? Would certainly help with tourism.
Just dont disagree with the “elites” or they will freeze your bank accounts. Like Canada did to its citizens who were peacefully protesting the mandates and like the west is doing to Russia and any of their supporters.
Yall crazy to want this.
how much choice do we have? Especially if they stop taking paper notes and coins all over.
I love cash! I always know how much I have to spend and nobody can clean out my account.
They won’t do that. Too many ppl love cash an some don’t have accounts at the bank.
I understand that we have to move with the new age of change. Change is good and sometimes it is bad. We live in a world where technology is taking over. But have we considered the problems that we can face. During the hurricane, all the cards (debit or credit) could not help us when we needed to acquire goods and or services. Currently, with the banks errors, stealing, all manner of things are taking place and in order to fix this we need contact with a bank rep. for the most part calling the bank is not an option since no one answers the telephone. You would have to physically take time out (hours) and stand in line to get help. Lastly, have we considered our elderly, who are not technologically savy. There are other factors to consider… just saying.
I wholeheartedly agree with you. After those hurricanes in 2017, and the onset of the global pandemic felt here in 2020, I always make sure that I keep a surplus cash with in case the banks are highly trafficked or possibly damaged and like a certain bank ATM machines are always empty or has a problem, I have something at hand to keep me going. To go full scale digital would be crazy. You never know if someone may successfully hack your account and Milk you dry. Please, not everything that is trending should be applied or used.
This spells trouble. First of all the sudden rush is the biggest red flag. I work on the inside and I know the hurdles and obstacles we face.
Unreliable ISPs, they haven’t publicly in the past mentioned this was coming with any dates so persons could be educated about the topic. All these indicators are clearly not conspiracy but was always a plan to go cashless for more government control. Good citizens are rewarded and vocal citizens are punished by locking access to their accounts. Since covid began the vice grip on compliance and control, loss of our freedoms is more evident. Some will play along and others won’t, they call this the future but for who. What kind of future where every aspect of your life is being monitored, even inside your body.
A Constitution seems to be useless at this point.
For the people cheering this on will learn soon enough it’s not what its cracked up to be. Especially for those with the side hustle. Wink wink.
BLIND LEADING THE BLIND
I will wait to see it happen and work properly. We are not able to do simple stuff. Up to this day, a simple credit card transaction with one of the wealthiest governments in the Caribbean, you have to hand-write an authorization form, take a copy of back and front of your credit card and passport and email it. Imagine that. This leaves your credit card exposed to whoever sees this email and the bearer exposed to fraud and discomfort as to what can happen. Hope our backwardness can soon change
Cash is King. Seem like its time to dump these losers that are just following what they are told.
From the time they announced that they selected Banco we knew this was coming. That Bank dread with their technology sah.
#BitcoinFixesThis – permissionless, immediate, affordable, peer-to-peer financial transactions without any requirement for a “trusted” third party. The technology is already here and banks and governments are powerless to stop it. Get educated people we don’t need these bloated financial institutions anymore.
The slow unreliable, intermittent internet and cell services in the BVI will require extensive overhaul, upgrades and improvements before any form of ‘cashless’ society is remotely possible in the BVI. In the meantime Cash is King so don’t leave home without it.
Before you go there Premier, FDIC people’s funds up to the $250,000 limit per balance at bank.
There is no FDIC here. It will take $millions to set up and fund a scheme but, guess what? The bank most likely to go bust is the “Government’s” bank. It lost money in 2020 and is offering 100% loans – a recipe for disaster.
Over reliance on cash? Who has the right to make such a claim? This is disgusting start to finish.
Disgusted
You seriously think that the BVI is capable of duplicating cashless transactions as per UK, what are you guys smoking ??
Digital economy relies on a fast, reliable internet. We don’t have such service.
Every month i queue hours for Tax, Social Security, NHI when it could be done in 5 minutes online. Inland Revenue (including property taxes) has to be the most antiquated system in the BVI!
Keeps da locals dem in jobz
Interesting! The BVI Bankers Association knows nothing about this initiative. Additionally, an ACH solution only applies to the US banks as it is an American system not in use by the other BVI banks (and will result in the banking information for every BVI person to be available to the US authorities at their request). Who wants the US Government, and especially the IRS, to be able to get their financial information without restraint?
I am an advocate for technology in some areas but before we can go this route can we first fix the issues with the banks?
Republic Bank is known for lack of security when it comes to your funds in the bank, yet you pay to have an account with them. Fees that they love to take out each and every month. $3000 can disappear from your account. They do not know where the funds have gone nor how to get them back. How many cases of this happening does it need before the government steps in.
Banco – ATM issues consistently. One location that cannot service Tortola, much less anywhere else.
How can we go digital when the bank here operates as in the 19th Century.
Russians can no longer pay for Netflix and Spotify with their bank cards. They can no longer use Apple Pay or Google Pay. Before we get rid of cash and go fully down this path, its worth thinking about the fragility of the system and, who can turn it off and on.
This will be perfect for financial surveillance. Don’t worry folks, government will be able to watch every transaction you make and if you don’t like what elected government does, they could just switch off your funds. Like the truckers in Canada.
we’re going “digital” by moving to cheques…! This Minister of Finance is stupider than we thought – if that were possible.
Cash payments should always be a option.
🙂 That’s all part of Coming dollar crash, NWO plans,they doing as told…poppets.