DLP calls for transparency as BIMPay launches

The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has urged greater transparency, public oversight and clear safeguards for personal data even as it welcomed the new national payment platform, BiMPay, warning that modernisation must be matched by accountability.

In a statement on Thursday, shadow small business and entrepreneurship minister Jason Phillips said innovation in the financial industry should be embraced, but citizens also have a right to understand how new systems operate and how their personal information is protected.

“Like many Barbadians, I welcome innovation that makes financial transactions faster, easier and more convenient,” Phillips said, noting that BiMPay has been presented as a significant advancement in the country’s payments infrastructure.

BiMPay, which will officially go online on Friday, is a national instant payment system designed to allow seamless, real-time transactions across banks, credit unions and other financial institutions.

He acknowledged that the platform’s ability to facilitate instant transfers between individuals, businesses, financial institutions and government entities could improve efficiency and provide consumers with greater flexibility.

But Phillips argued that as Barbados undertakes what could be one of the most significant changes to its financial infrastructure in decades, public discussion should extend beyond convenience and speed.

“While this is not an allegation that the platform is unsafe, improperly designed or being implemented for any purpose other than improving payments, it is a recognition that whenever a country introduces a new national financial platform, citizens have a right and indeed a responsibility to ask questions.”

Phillips suggested that attention should now shift from what BiMPay does to how it works, how it is governed and what implications it may have in the future.

Among the issues he identified for further public discussion were data privacy, cybersecurity, governance and consumer protection.

He questioned what personal and transactional information would be collected through the system, how long that information would be retained, who would have access to it and what safeguards would be in place to protect users’ financial data. He also called for consideration of whether independent privacy audits would be conducted and made public.

“In an increasingly digital world, data has become one of the most valuable assets any institution possesses,” Phillips said, adding that citizens should have a clear understanding of how their information is managed.

The DLP spokesman also raised concerns about cybersecurity and system resilience, including the extent of independent testing conducted on the platform, how frequently vulnerabilities would be assessed and what measures exist to respond to cyberattacks, outages, fraud or unauthorised transactions.

On governance, Phillips asked who ultimately oversees BiMPay, what accountability mechanisms are in place and how future decisions regarding the platform’s expansion would be made.

He said the most important question may be what role BiMPay is expected to play in the future, including whether it will remain an instant payments platform or become the foundation for broader digital financial and government services.

“Barbadians are not afraid of progress,” Phillips said. “However, as BIMPay becomes a larger part of our financial landscape, it is entirely reasonable for citizens to be informed about data privacy, security, governance, consumer protection and the long-term vision for the platform.”

(SB)