The Government has developed an electronic payment platform for cashless transactions across all government agencies.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Sen. the Hon. J. Kwasi Thompson explained that the Government’s official DigiPay platform allows for real time integration into The Treasury Financial Management System and ease of balancing at an Agency level.
“The DigiPay Platform has allowed for collection of government revenue by debit and credit card in agencies and online. As the Central Bank rolls out the country’s first Digital currency The DigiPay platform will allow for acceptance of Sand Dollars across government for payment of government revenue,” Sen. Thompson said during a press conference to announce the Platform being fully integrated into the Courts, Thursday, March 25, 2021.
“As the government streamlines its financial processes Digi Pay’s ability to record revenue in real-time into the Treasury Financial Management System increases accountability and transparency in reporting of government revenue. DigiPay’s ability to record transactions in the accounting ledger of The Bahamas Government facilitates ease of reporting and reconciliation to align government revenue streams with best practices.”
The Senator stated that however most importantly, for the public and Bahamian citizens, the DigiPay payment platform facilitates ease of doing business where clients have three options of payment for government services. Online payments, Payments in Agency or Payment at a third party vendor.
He said long lines for obtaining government services are being eliminated by DigiPay’s flexibility with payment options. It seeks to make doing business with the government faster and easier.
Sen. Thompson noted that as the economy continues to rebound revenue collection is a critical component for the government. The DigiPay platform and ease of payment for citizens will allow for increased flow of revenue streams as clients will have less wait times, shorter lines and online payment access. These benefits will encourage citizens to engage in more timely revenue generating services for the government.
“Without a doubt, DigiPay is the future of revenue collection for The Bahamas Government! It is another major milestone on our journey towards a digital Bahamas.
He said, “Today, we are not only celebrating the launch of DigiPay, we are also recognizing a major accomplishment for The Office of the Judiciary, which has fully integrated the DigiPay platform. This allows the Court system to now accept not only cash payments, as previously required, but also debit or credit card payments, thus improving upon the ease of doing business within the government. This is only one of a number of digital advancements by the Chief Justice and the Office of the Judiciary.
“As Minister with responsibility for Digitization I applaud their modernization efforts including moving quickly to virtual hearings and obtaining court dates and filing documents online.”
Sen. Thompson applauded the hard working professionals at the Ministry of Finance and The Office of the Judiciary on the successful implementation of DigiPay.
He said, “I am elated to see the third branch of government adopting this innovative solution to expand its payment receipt options. The Department of Immigration was the first institution to go completely cashless via the DigiPay platform in October of last year. Since then, it has seen a steady flow of revenue with over 23,812 payments transacted over the new system as of March 24, 2021.”
