Barbados technology in review 2025

Writing at the end of the year always brings a sense of nostalgia because it creates an opportunity to reflect on the gains and losses we experienced through the lens of technology development. Barbados, like many developing countries, has always placed a premium on infrastructure development, including digital systems. This year was no exception, with more digital transformation activity than any year in recent memory.

FLOW rolled out the island’s first 5G+ networks, creating new national capacity and positioning the country to take advantage of first-world digital infrastructure. At the same time, Barbados advanced its financial modernisation agenda with the introduction of BimPay, the national instant-payment platform championed by the Central Bank. Adding to these gains, the government also launched alpha.gov.bb, a citizen-centric service portal designed to simplify how Barbadians find and use government services.

The year also marked Barbados’ formal entry into structured AI development, led by GovTech Barbados through its partnership with Zindi, the global AI-community platform. This collaboration produced several innovation challenges, including the Historic Handwriting Challenge, which used AI to transcribe decades of handwritten deeds, censuses, wills and other archival documents. This became one of the earliest and most practical demonstrations of AI supporting real public-sector needs. These technology breakthroughs unfolded alongside hundreds of millions of dollars in renewable-energy and health-technology investments, as well as a nationwide acceleration of discussions on digital identity, cybersecurity and the future architecture of public-sector modernisation.

DataReportal, a global digital intelligence platform that publishes authoritative data on Internet usage, confirms in its Digital 2026: Barbados report just how deeply these changes matter. By late 2025, Barbados had an estimated 338 000 mobile connections, equal to 120 per cent of the population, along with an 80 per cent Internet penetration rate. The country also recorded 193 000 social media identities, representing more than two-thirds of the population actively engaging online. Barbados is not only connected but digitally active, socially engaged and increasingly prepared for the next stage of digital maturity.

Yet 2025 also made it harder to ignore the other half of the story, which is the reality of a fragile and aging digital backbone. Some national challenges during the year were the result of physical infrastructure failures, including the BWA’s aging water network. However, the most significant pressures on the country’s digital future came from technology system failures in key government agencies. These included system breakdowns at the Licensing Authority, outages at the Barbados Revenue Authority and prolonged disruptions in the government’s central email system. As I highlighted in a prior article, the email platform operates as a single point of failure and demonstrates a serious lack of resilience. These failures were not minor inconveniences. They are clear national warnings that highlight the fragility of our critical infrastructure and how easily our way of life can be disrupted.

Barbados now stands at a crossroads. If 2025 was the year when we clearly stepped up the pace, then 2026 must be the year when we move smarter, reinforcing infrastructure, strengthening resilience and ensuring that innovation is supported by systems that can actually sustain it. What follows are the three 2026 Must-Happens that Barbados must commit to if we intend to capitalise fully on the progress made, the money spent and the lessons learned.

The 2026 Must-Happens

1. Build a resilient digital state: Infrastructure modernisation is no longer optional

Barbados cannot expand digital services on top of brittle foundations.

The BLA collapse, BRA outage and government email failures, proved that many core systems are still dangerously outdated. With 80 per cent of the nation online and reliant on digital transactions, system downtime now equals national downtime.

What 2026 must deliver:

• A multi-year replacement of fragile legacy platforms

• Migration of critical government services to a more resilient architecture

• A centralised cybersecurity monitoring function

• Updated digital risk frameworks and incident-response protocols

• Hardening of systems essential for national security, licensing, taxation and healthcare

The promise of digital government cannot be achieved without digital resilience. In 2026, modernisation is not a luxury. It is national risk management.

2. Accelerate BimPay and fuel an optional cashless economy: Turn connectivity into efficiency

With the launch of BimPay on March 31, 2026, Barbados has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to accelerate financial modernisation. Barbadians have already had an early experience with instant digital payments through CIBC FirstCaribbean’s FirstPay service, which allows customers to send direct deposits to each other in real time. The country’s unusually high levels of digital adoption, including mobile penetration above 120 per cent and an Internet usage rate near 80 per cent, give BimPay an advantage that no previous payment reform has enjoyed.

What 2026 must deliver:

• Widespread integration of BimPay across banks, credit unions, government agencies, SMEs, utilities and transport

• A national shift toward low-cost QR payments, especially for small merchants

• Consumer incentives for digital transactions

• Public-education campaigns targeting adoption, safety and trust

If executed well, BimPay could boost financial inclusion, lower transaction costs and move Barbados closer to true digital commerce by year-end.

3. Make Trident ID the engine of seamless public services: Advance digital identity, privacy and automation

While the groundwork for a unified Trident ID digital identity system was laid prior to 2025, its integration into digital government services such as alpha.gov.bb and its role in early public-sector pilots now demonstrate its true potential. A secure and non-repudiated identity is the foundation for any meaningful digital transaction. Around the world, from Estonia to India to the UAE, digital identity has become the backbone of efficient and modern public services.

For Barbados, digital identity is the essential gateway to a more advanced society. Without the ability to verify who is conducting a transaction, it becomes impossible to fully enable automated licensing, e-health, digital signatures or AI supported service delivery. Trident ID therefore, represents the key that will allow the country to unlock the next stage of digital government.

What 2026 must deliver:

• Expansion of Trident ID across major government transactions

• Legal recognition of digital signatures

• Strong privacy safeguards and transparent data governance frameworks

If executed with care and supported by clear communication that strengthens public confidence, Trident ID can rebuild trust in government systems and become the platform that turns digital ambition into real, everyday convenience for Barbadians.

Moving forward

I pray 2026 is the year Barbados levels up. Barbados is no longer debating whether digital transformation is necessary. The events of 2025 settled that question. We have the connectivity. We have the investment. We have the platforms. And we have the national appetite for change.

What we need now is follow-through, not only from the government but equally from the private sector. Every major initiative launched by the State could be undermined if the private sector treats national digital transformation as optional or secondary to their operations. Progress requires a unified national effort.

2026 must be the year we:

• Modernise our digital infrastructure

• Scale instant payments into everyday life

• Implement a unified digital identity system that unlocks true digital government

These are not predictions.

These are not possibilities.

These are the must-happens if Barbados is to turn rapid digital adoption into lasting national progress.

If 2025 was the year of promise, then 2026 must be the year of proof.

Steven Williams is the executive director of Sunisle Technology Solutions and the principal consultant at Data Privacy and Management Advisory Services. He is a former IT advisor to the Government’s Law Review Commission, focusing on the draft Cybercrime Bill. He holds an MBA from the University of Durham and is certified as a chief information security officer by the EC Council and as a data protection officer by the Professional Evaluation and Certification Board (PECB). Steven can be reached at Mobile: 246-233-0090; Email: steven@dataprivacy.bb