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North Eleuthera Digital Payments Forum Draws Packed House

More than 80 people, including high school students, packed a transformed classroom for a town hall meeting at North Eleuthera High this week eager to find ways to pay and get paid conveniently and safely on an island with limited or no traditional banking solutions. 

It was the fourth time Central Bank and member banks of the Clearing Banks Association took the Pay Fast, Live Digital campaign on the road.

“In every case – North Eleuthera, Central Eleuthera, North Andros and here in the capital – we have been met with impressive numbers of individuals and businesses searching for solutions in a climate increasingly less reliant on paper transactions and brick and mortar institutions. And for their part, banks and digital wallet providers are filling the gaps left by the departure of some institutions on the Family Islands, stepping up to the plate with improved digital options,” said Central Bank Governor John Rolle. “We are very pleased with the enthusiasm we are seeing at each of these events.”

Most of the major banks are taking part, traveling to the town halls with immediate results, one bank accepting applications for 50 new accounts at the Andros event. In each case, Central Bank and the participating banks are partnering with the local Chamber of Commerce.

In North Eleuthera, where Sun Cash, Sand Dollar, Bank of The Bahamas, CIBC, Commonwealth Bank, Fidelity and RBC sent representatives to meet with the crowd, local residents openly shared their banking struggles. For many, depositing their paycheck or paying a bill, they said, means taking a day off and shelling out the expenses of flying to Nassau or finding someone to drive them to the top of the island, boarding a ferry to go to Spanish Wells or Harbour Island or finding another solution.

Several complained about the lack of ATMs or absence near their settlements. SunCash revealed two new locations for its robotic ATMs – a look, feel and capability very different from standard ATMs.

“The world of easy-to-use functional digital options is evolving at a rapid pace,” said Rolle. “Listening to the tale of one of the merchants tonight, a baker, share the information that after years of thinking he did not need a credit card machine, a tourist persuaded him he would make so much more if he just accepted cards, he reluctantly agreed and his business shot up instantly, more than doubling in no time. That is the kind of information that people need to hear from someone in their own community.”

Town halls are scheduled for Exuma, Abaco and Long Island in the next several months as part of the two-year campaign aimed at broadening the understanding of digital payment solutions including credit and debit cards, online banking, peer-to-peer money transfers and digital wallets.

Central Bank Governor John Rolle addresses a packed house at North Eleuthera High during a recent town meeting, one of a series to build awareness and understanding through the Pay Fast, Live Digital campaign. 

The most recent town hall forum in the two-year Pay Fast, Live Digital campaign was held in North Eleuthera allowing individuals and businesses to explore credit and debit cards, online banking, robotic ATMs, peer-to-peer payments, online banking and transfers, easy-to-use options in an increasingly digital financial world.

Central Bank Governor John Rolle addressed a crowd of more than 80 people, including high school students, at the fourth town hall aimed at building awareness about digital payment solutions in an era with less reliance on traditional brick and mortar banks. The local Chambers of Commerce partner with Central Bank and the Clearing Banks Association to present the events.