Aliases in BiMPay: A Simpler Way to Send and Receive Money

With the go-live date for BiMPay, the Central Bank of Barbados’ national instant payment system rapidly approaching, there’s a lot to look forward to – 24/7/365 availability, receiving money someone sends to you within 10 seconds – and being able to spend it immediately, and an e-wallet that makes it possible for everyone, including people who don’t have bank accounts, to be able to make electronic payments. One other feature you can look forward to is being able to transfer money using an alias. 

What is an Alias?

You’re no doubt familiar with aliases when it comes to people: they are nicknames you use instead of someone’s name. Aliases in BiMPay and other instant payment systems operate in a similar way, as simple identifiers, or proxies, that stand in for your real account details. 

With BiMPay, your alias can be your mobile phone number, your email address, your national registration number (and in the case of businesses, the business registration [TAMIS] number), or, in some cases, a unique nickname that you choose. 

If you’re using the BiMpay e-wallet, both your mobile number and your email addresses will become default aliases. However, while you can have multiple aliases for an account, an alias cannot be linked to more than one account.

You’ll be able to amend, suspend, or delete an alias after you register it.

How Does an Alias Work in BiMPay?

When you create an alias, it is linked to your bank account or digital wallet in a secure proxy management system. This directory maps your alias to your real account number, and when someone wants to pay you, they simply enter your alias – say, your phone number – and BiMPay does the rest. Behind the scenes, the system looks up the alias, retrieves the correct account, and routes the payment instantly.

Why Use an Alias?

The benefits of using an alias are obvious.

First, it’s faster and more convenient. Do you remember your account number off the top of your head? Probably not. Rather than having to go look it up, you can use a word, phrase, or number that you that’s very familiar to you.

Second, you don’t need to share complex and sensitive banking details. Wouldn’t you rather give someone your email address rather than the name of your financial institution, the branch you have the account at, and your actual account number?

And third, the simpler the information you have to provide, the less likely the person sending the money to you is to make an error. After all, typing a phone number is much easier than entering an 11‑digit account number. Fewer mistakes mean fewer failed or misdirected payments.

Aliases, then, are one more thing to look forward to with the introduction of BiMPay. In addition to electronic payments becoming faster and more convenient, they’ll also be easier to use.