Barbadians are being encouraged to get online as the island continues its transition to a digital economy.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Ryan Straughn, urged residents to get online as he addressed the launch of the Barbados Digital Summer Drive at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Thursday, hosted by the Barbados Automated Clearing House Services Inc.
The first of what is expected to be a series of events designed to assist citizens enroll in the digital banking, the Digital Summer Drive is slated for Saturday, August 26, at the Golden Square Freedom Park, The City, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
This inaugural event will feature officials from commercial banks and credit unions coming together to assist persons in getting online in the digital era, and will be replicated through the island, overtime.
During his address, Mr. Straughn urged members of the public to get on board as it was important for everyone to work together to fully transform the island’s economy.
He added that Government was already on a path to digitising its systems with a request for proposals already out for the supply a digital system to facilitate the payment of benefits such as welfare, NIS and child support.
Mr. Straughn also disclosed that the Barbados Revenue Authority was in the final stages of offering online payment solutions for this year’s land tax payments to make it easier for people to be able to make their payments.
“While we will be in a position to have those bills issued shortly, we want you to take the option…to pay online. You don’t have to go and stand up in line,” he added.
Mr. Straughn said his Ministry wanted to ensure that the experience of persons accessing services from Government from a payment perspective was improved by upgrading its systems and reducing.
The Minister further noted that he wanted Barbados on a whole, to eliminate the writing of, processing and reconciliation of cheques and the challenges associated with it, to allow people to be able to work faster through the creation of digital IDs.
He told those present that the initiative had the full support of the Government as it sought to accelerate its ability to deliver a range of products and services to the country at a faster pace.
Mr. Straughn noted that the digital era also presented investment opportunities for ordinary citizens, whether in corporate security, Government securities, mutual funds, or any other type of investment.
While giving the assurance that the necessary security features were present to ensure the safety of accounts, the Minister advised the public to set alerts to notify them of transactions on their accounts.
“I urge Barbadians to really have faith in ourselves, because it is Barbadians who came together and delivered this solution for the country. And, therefore, as you have a relationship with your bank or credit union whatever financial institution you have a relationship with, you must trust as a system, and as a country. We are doing this for the right reasons to benefit every single Barbadian,” he stressed.