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As the Central Bank of Barbados’ prepares for the March 31 go-live of BiMPay, its national instant payment system, Sherri Bishop, Deputy Director of Communications and Outreach sat down with Deputy Governor Michelle Doyle for an in-depth discussion on how Barbados’ national instant payment system will work and why it represents a major step in the country’s financial modernisation.
Doyle, who is also the executive sponsor for the instant payment project, explained that the Bank views BiMPay as a public good:
“Our responsibility under the National Payment System Act, as well as the Central Bank Act, really establishes that we need to be the overseer of the payments market in Barbados. And what we've sought to do, similar to many other central banks around the world, is to create a level playing field in our payments ecosystem, meaning that we provide, as a public good, the infrastructure for payments to flourish and for innovation...”
She revealed that the Bank began working with Barbados’ commercial banks long before the August 2025 public announcement of the upcoming instant payment system, and that that collaboration continues today.
“There’s a technical user group that involves all of the parties. There’s a business user group that, again, involves all of the parties and is targeted for the operations teams within the PSPs [payment service providers - such as commercial banks]. There is also a steering committee that oversees all of the activities.”
Doyle identified several of the advantages of a national instant payment system, including speed, availability, convenience, and ease of use:
“You get the payment instantaneously, and you also get a notification indicating that the funds have settled.”
“We’re talking about 24/7, 365 functionality… all of the time.
“You achieve what we term interoperability, meaning you can send funds to any recipient on the platform without any rigidity or delay in terms of settlement time…
“You can initiate a payment using a cell phone number or an email address or a QR code… those are additional offerings that will exist for any party despite who you may bank with.”
During the interview, Doyle also responded to several questions members of the public have posed since the Bank officially launched BiMPay, including how it differs from services that are currently available, how secure it will be, and how users’ data will be protected, and whether it will replace cash.
Watch the full podcast below.