New national payment system should be ready in months – President

Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced on Monday that a new national system, which will allow persons to easily make payments, should be ready in a matter of months.

The President made the announcement as he spoke at the opening of Demerara Bank’s new Beterverwagting branch, East Coast Demerara.

Dr. Ali said he expects this system to be ready in about six months. New digital wallets should be rolled out too, offering persons the ability to pay through their phones or with bank cards.

President Ali said he has already engaged the governor of the Bank of Guyana on the rollout of the new system. The establishment of the supporting infrastructure, be it at cashier stations in supermarkets countrywide or other transaction spaces, must also be developed over the next few months.

In February, Dr. Ali said the Bank of Guyana, which is the country’s central bank, has completed several necessary processes to make way for this new system. Two commercial banks are also ready to embrace this system now, he revealed then too.

Last year, President Ali announced the government’s pursuit of this e-payment system. He also said it will able be able to make bill payments on the platform and that government ministries and agencies will also be linked for payment of services.