By: Staff Writer
August 22, 2025
The Central Bank of Barbados unveiled the details of their new instant payment system (IPS) named BiMPay which they claim will make payments throughout the country quicker.
The IPS will allow individuals, businesses and government to send and receive payments ‘within 10 seconds’ on a 24/7/365 basis, with the recipient being able to access the funds immediately upon receipt, regardless of who they bank with – ‘or whether they bank with anyone at all’.
Central Bank Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge said at the BiMPay launch that the instant payments can be done in seconds of the sender transferring money to the receiver. “We already have a payment system. We’ve already had a payment system for a while, but the payment system we have don’t serve us well,” he said.
Greenidge continued: “We have at least two issues that we want to face. The first issue is that it is defragmented, meaning that parts of the system is housed outside the central bank. It is a partnership between the banks, the financial institutions, and the central bank, and that deals with what we call the real time payment or the batch payment.
“And then there’s another part that is housed inside the central bank that deals with certain values. What this defragmentation means is that we call in the industry interoperability.”
For government, BiMPay will make it easier to make ‘mass payments’ to citizens, the Central Bank of Barbados states. The new system will also ‘reduce the size of the informal economy, improving its ability to plan meaningfully for all Barbadians,’ according to the central bank, which states that it will ‘boost economic activity’ and ‘will improve Barbados’ global competitiveness.’
The CBB said on their website: “With some traditional payment methods, funds that have been sent to you might appear on your account, but you can’t access them until they clear hours or sometimes days later. However, because instant payment systems confirm the sender has sufficient funds available to make the payment during the transfer process, and because transactions are irrevocable, settlement occurs in real time, so you can use that money immediately.
“The introduction of BimPay, with its ability to facilitate anytime payments with real-time settlement, will be another milestone in the Central Bank’s efforts to modernise Barbados’ payments landscape. Instant access to our money when someone sends you a transfer is a convenience we can all appreciate, and one that could ease cashflow challenges for small businesses. Beyond this, it represents another secure payment option that can be used for a wide variety of purposes and that, critically, isn’t dependent on who you bank with or if you bank with anyone at all.”