Central Bank Advises on One-Cent "Penny Test" Deposits to Accounts

The Central Bank of Barbados advises that, as part of the process to identify and correct the incorrectly formatted account information that led to some workers not receiving their salaries on time, some commercial banks and credit unions are working with Government and private sector employers to conduct a "penny test."

The test involves an entity depositing one cent into the accounts that receive these payments, to confirm that the account information on file is correctly formatted. A successful transfer indicates that the information is in the required format. Where a transfer is rejected, the information is corrected and validated.

Customers of commercial banks and members of credit unions who see a one-cent deposit on their accounts should therefore not be alarmed.

Not all entities are conducting the penny test, because some employers and financial institutions addressed any formatting issues before the transition to the BiMPay payment rail. For that reason, not seeing a one-cent deposit does not mean there is an error in an accountholder's information. Customers do not need to take any action. Where information needs to be corrected, the accountholder's bank or credit union will contact them directly.

The Bank further advises that penny tests were previously performed on selected pension payments and Government interest payments, and that similar validation will be carried out on upcoming pension and Government interest payments.

The Central Bank of Barbados remains committed to working with financial institutions, the private sector, Government, and other organisations to ensure that affected workers receive their salaries as quickly as possible, and to minimise the risk of further workers being affected.

The Bank reiterates that individuals and businesses earning less than $10,000 daily do not pay to use BiMPay.