BiMPay, Barbados’ national instant payment system established by the Central Bank, has now facilitated 3.5 million transactions worth $6 billion since it went live on June 12.
This information was shared in a presentation which Governor Dr. The Most Honourable Kevin Greenidge, made during the Caribbean Association of Banks 2026 Annual Conference last week.
On October 19 alone, there were 35 480 transactions worth $58 million based on Central Bank data.
In terms of the BiMPay e-wallet, there have been 30 551 downloads and about 60 per cent of those who downloaded the app have linked it to an account at a commercial bank or credit union.
In this presentation to the conference, which was held in the Dominican Republic, the Governor provided a comprehensive overview of the development of BiMPay, lessons learned, regional integration, and future banking opportunities.
He spoke under the theme Instant Payments: Unlocking The Next Era Of Caribbean Banking.
When BiMPay went live there were some challenges, including those which resulted in some Barbadians receiving their salaries and pensions late.
Some of the challenges shared during the bank conference included account errors in payroll files, the BiMPay token was bured several screens deep in some financial institution apps, a difference in limits between what financial institutions set on the BiMWay e-wallet versus limits set when customers used the institutions’ own channels, and funds received by the financial institution but not promptly credited to the customer.
Greenidge offered some advice to the regional bankers on the key things to get right before the switch was made to an instant payment system.
These were: Validate account data now. An instant rail does not forgive a bad file.
Put instant payments on the first screen of every app.
Run the back office 24/7, not only the front end.
Set limits and fees in the customer’s interest, and disclose them plainly.
When the fault is yours, pay the customer first and reconcile later.
He also noted that while the Central Bank provided the payment rail, its value depended on what the commercial banks and others built on In his presentation, how widespread globally, with 137 a payment rail.
He noted that year when digital methods, and of Barbadian residents union account.
The Governor the only option card use was low, the Caribbean payment systems could get one.
It took 20 months BiMPay project the Payment System launched with Other key milestones when BiMPay 2026 when the pushed back to testing could be BiMPay going on it. presentation, Greenidge indicated widespread instant payment systems were 137 countries now operating such rail. that in Barbados’ case 2019 was the digital payments overtook traditional that an estimated four per cent residents had no bank or credit account.
Governor pointed out that cash was still option for many small businesses and low, asserting that the question for Caribbean was no longer whether instant systems were the solution, but how they months from the start of the project to its go-live date, starting when System Modernisation Project was with the World Bank in October 2024. milestones were in August 2025 BiMPay was unveiled to the public, March the original March 31 go-live date was to June 12 so that interoperatibility be completed. It culminated with going live on June 12.