Central Bank of Barbados to Conduct Penny Test

The Central Bank of Barbados will conduct a “penny test” to confirm that the account information we have on file for investors in Government Securities is properly formatted. This will ensure that any errors are fixed before the next cycle of interest payments on investments is paid. 

The test involves entities depositing one cent into your account. A successful transfer will indicate that the information we have for is in the required format, while any rejected attempts will allow the information to be repaired and validated in a timely manner. We therefore urge investors not to be alarmed if they notice an unexpected credit on their account. 

This test is necessary because under the previous automated clearing house (ACH) system, which operated on a batched basis, financial institutions could use manual intervention to correct any errors, allowing them to be processed. This is not possible with BiMPay, which processes transactions instantly. 

The Bank also noted that penny tests had previously been performed on select Government interest payments. These additional tests will further strengthen the validation of account payment details.

The Central Bank of Barbados is committed to addressing these issues to ensure that investors receive their interest payments in a timely manner.