Barbados launches BiMPay instant payment system, enabling real-time transactions nationwide
Key Points(5)
- Barbados has officially launched BiMPay, a national instant payment system that allows individuals and businesses to send and receive money within seconds, marking a significant upgrade to the country’s financial infrastructure.
- The platform went live at 11:59 p.m.
- on Friday during a launch event hosted by the Central Bank of Barbados, with Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley executing the system’s first transaction by sending a payment to a food vendor.
- The new system enables real-time transfers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and public holidays, eliminating delays that previously affected some interbank payments, which could take hours or even days to process.
- Central Bank Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge described the launch as a critical step toward modernising Barbados’ financial ecosystem and strengthening its capacity for digital innovation.
Barbados has officially launched BiMPay, a national instant payment system that allows individuals and businesses to send and receive money within seconds, marking a significant upgrade to the country’s financial infrastructure.
The platform went live at 11:59 p.m. on Friday during a launch event hosted by the Central Bank of Barbados, with Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley executing the system’s first transaction by sending a payment to a food vendor.
The new system enables real-time transfers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and public holidays, eliminating delays that previously affected some interbank payments, which could take hours or even days to process.
Central Bank Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge described the launch as a critical step toward modernising Barbados’ financial ecosystem and strengthening its capacity for digital innovation.
“A modern economy needs a modern payment system,” Greenidge said at the launch. “People need to be able to send money quickly. Businesses need to be able to receive funds and have them available to spend. Vendors want to get their funds and access their money immediately…. We need a space to innovate to compete and to build the fintech industry that needs to be built.”
Officials said the rollout follows months of testing involving financial institutions and stakeholders across the payments sector.
All six commercial banks operating in Barbados, along with the island’s three largest credit unions—the Barbados Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union, City of Bridgetown Co-operative Credit Union and AffinityPlus Credit Union—have been connected to the BiMPay rail, the underlying infrastructure that facilitates interbank transfers.
Seven participating institutions are also linked to the Central Bank’s BiMPay e-wallet, which allows users to send and receive money using phone numbers, email addresses or QR codes, as well as submit payment requests.
However, not all institutions are fully integrated at launch. Customers of Scotiabank and AffinityPlus Credit Union will initially be unable to link directly to the e-wallet, although they will still be able to complete interbank transfers through existing online banking systems.
The Central Bank said Scotiabank is expected to activate wallet connectivity within 30 days, while AffinityPlus Credit Union is expected to follow within 60 days.
Authorities say BiMPay is designed to improve transaction speed and convenience across the economy while supporting broader efforts to modernise Barbados’ financial services sector and expand digital payment adoption nationwide.
