Interbank Transfers Temporarily Unavailable on Friday, June 12 as Central Bank Transitions to BiMPay

The Central Bank of Barbados advises the public that on Friday, June 12, 2026, the Automated Clearing House (ACH) will go offline at 2:00 p.m. and the Real-Time Processing (RTP) system will become unavailable from 7:00 p.m. to facilitate the transition to BiMPay, Barbados’ new national instant payment system.

The formal switch to BiMPay will take place at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 12. Interbank transfers will resume on BiMPay from 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 13.

While the ACH and RTP will go offline at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively, on June 12, customers who need to complete transactions should consult their financial institution to confirm its specific cutoff time. ATM, point-of-sale, and intrabank transactions will continue as normal throughout the transition period.

The service interruption will affect interbank transfers across financial institutions currently processed through the ACH and RTP systems. The temporary interruption is necessary to support a safe and orderly migration from the existing payment rails to BiMPay.

BiMPay will replace the existing ACH and RTP rails with a national instant payment system that processes payments in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Once the transition is complete, interbank transfers will be processed in seconds across participating institutions.

BiMPay is fully interoperable, meaning customers will be able to send and receive funds across participating financial institutions, regardless of where the payer or payee banks. Users will also be able to use simple identifiers, known as aliases, such as a mobile number or email address, instead of complex and potentially sensitive banking details.

All six of Barbados’ commercial banks and the three largest credit unions, Barbados Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union, City of Bridgetown Co-operative Credit Union, and Affinity Plus Credit Union, are participants in BiMPay from launch.

For individuals, BiMPay means immediate access to transferred funds at any hour, including weekends and public holidays. For small and micro businesses, the system supports faster payment receipt and improved cash flow. BiMPay also supports wallet-based access, request-to-pay, and QR-code-based payment acceptance through participating financial institutions.

The Central Bank of Barbados apologises for any inconvenience the temporary service interruption may cause and thanks the public for its patience as Barbados transitions to a faster, more inclusive national payment system.

More information about BiMPay, including FAQs, blogs, and videos, is available at www.bimpay.bb.