The BVI Financial Services Commission is working to facilitate the establishment of an electronic payment system for the BVI, Premier Andrew Fahie revealed recently.

The Premier said the project will be executed in two parts. The first of those parts is an electronic settlement system for cheques. Fahie said this will be established among the seven local banks.

According to the Premier, this will allow for cheques to be cleared, settled or returned within 24 hours of presentation.

The second part is the establishment of an electronic settlement system for all other forms of payment.

International transactions

According to the Premier, the second option will extend the platform used for electronic settlement of cheques to include the offering of international ACH payment options.

He explained that this would include a wider acceptance of debit cards transactions and see the introduction of electronic purse wallet transactions.

This step would also allow for the settlement of such transactions within 24 hours.

“The aim of this initiative is to encourage greater use of electronic transactions at lower cost, thus reducing the over-reliance on cash transactions,“ Premier Fahie related.

He said these measures are all pushing the BVI forward with its digital economy.