National Payment System to be fully operational in 6 months

President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Monday announced that in the next six months, Guyana will be in a position to launch the National Payment Platform.

The Head of State was at the time addressing the gathering at the opening of Demerara Bank’s Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara (ECD) branch, where he stated that he has instructed the governor of the central bank, Gobind Ganga, to make the platform operational.

“We must have access to digital wallets at a national level and on an international scale…I know in the next 4-6 weeks, Demerara Bank will be launching their own digital wallets for customers,” Ali added, while noting that Guyana now has to create a whole new infrastructure where the cashiers and cash registers in businesses are now equipped with the technology to accept payments by swiping your phone.

This infrastructure is necessary, he added, because that is where the country is heading in the future. He further noted that Guyanese must not take for granted this era of development.

As such, he congratulated the board of directors of Demerara Bank for their bold, innovative steps that drove the financial institution’s success, especially in technology.
The expansion taking place in our financial sector is not by accident but rather by the type of policies that the government is pursuing and by a government that is creating an enabling environment for development and advancement.

He made reference to the tens of thousands of new houselots along the East Coast Demerara corridor, hundreds of new commercial buildings, an entirely new commercial zone at Enmore, and other facilities, including hotels, which require financial services.

“In the last nine months, electronically, Demerara Bank has been able to process more than 50,000 new accounts…in the last six months, they would have conducted more than $50 billion in transactions electronically.”

Back in February, while addressing the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo 2026 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, Dr. Ali stated that Central Bank had completed the building out the national payment platform and that two local banks were ready to go completely on the digital platform.

He added that this shift was part of broader financial sector reforms aimed at ensuring the economy operates on a digital backbone, while also promoting financial and technological inclusion.

Further, Dr Ganga earlier this month had noted that all local banks are working on completing the national payment platform to ensure a glitch-free rollout.

“All of the banks are at various stages. With this, you will be able to transfer or receive funds from someone who has an account from any of the banks [in Guyana]. Simply put, if you are an account holder of X bank, you will be able to pay or receive from someone at Y bank,” Dr. Ganga had told the Stabroek News.

He further related that the that what the regulator and manager of the platform wants is to ensure a glitch-free process before the system is launched because there cannot be any room for error.

“You can’t make a mistake when implementing a payment system… it is that sensitive,” he said while explaining that security, reliability, and efficiency, are integral to getting users onboard. The National Payment System is a US$6 million Project which will enhance safety and efficiency of payments.