Digital bank in the works

Prime Minister Mia Mottley on Wednesday signed off on the establishment of a new digital bank expected to be operational next year.

She announced the move while delivering the 16th Patrick Emmanuel Memorial Lecture, Forging a Nation Confronting New Realities, insisting that Barbados must take full advantage of the new digital knowledge economy.

Mottley did not provide in-depth details about the bank but said while the modernization of Barbados’ digital infrastructure was not as advanced as she would like, there was light at the end of the tunnel as she revealed more initiatives to come on stream.

“Today, I signed the licence as Minister of Finance for a new digital bank that will probably be operational in about six months’ time.

“By the end of the first quarter of next year, we expect all of the major banking institutions that we have to upgrade their internal systems and to go live on a real-time automated clearing house.

“These things will mean that for the very first time, every person conducting business, no matter their scale, will be able to make and receive payments instantly. I am truly beyond excited by the boost that this will give to our entrepreneurs who go about their everyday business looking for more ease where ever possible,” she said.

The Prime Minister also announced that her administration was on the cusp of finalizing legislation for a financial services tribunal which is intended to increase the capacity of banks, credit unions, insurance companies, fintech developers and Government to provide improved financial services to citizens and businesses.

Mottley stressed that her administration is committed to prioritizing investment on digital infrastructure and digital education, pointing to the recent introduction of robotics and AI in schools.

She said the emergence of the digital knowledge economy, if truly embraced, is a rare opportunity for small islands to not only think big but do big.

“For small-island governments, the moment is now to be brave and to be strategic to build new frameworks of economic enfranchisement of our people, recognizing that we can do so not only through renewable energy but through embracing and understanding and deconstructing the power of the digital for our people to be able to … no longer be afraid of speaking and striving toward wealth creation.

“We need a generation of Caribbean millionaires and Caribbean billionaires if we are going to sustain these economies in our region – a generation of Caribbean young entrepreneurs that convert our particular sensibilities and approaches into billion-dollar global businesses,” the Prime Minister said. (SD)