The Central Bank of Barbados (the Bank) has selected Montran Corporation as the vendor for the country’s new national Instant Payment System.
The Bank stated that it selected the globally recognised payment systems provider following a competitive procurement process that began in February 2025 with the issuance of a Request for Proposal for the design, supply, installation, and support of the IPS. The Bank has since executed the relevant contractual arrangements with Montran Corporation.
The IPS platform represents a major component of the Barbados Payments System Modernisation Project which aims to enhance financial accessibility by enabling real-time transactions on a 24/7/365 basis for all Barbadians, regardless of their banking provider.
Apart from the six commercial banks and three credit unions, the system will also count the Barbados Stock Exchange (“BSE”) and the Treasury Department of the Government of Barbados as participants.
The system will also allow access at a later stage to other non-bank financial entities such as money or value transmission service providers, mobile money operators, Fintechs and other payment service providers that the Bank licenses.
In parallel to the technical implementation of the system, the Bank will also launch a comprehensive public education campaign to promote awareness and adoption of instant payments.
The Bank is also in the process of modifying Barbados’ legal and regulatory payments framework to take cognisance of new forms of payments as well as to enhance the consumer protection, fraud control and data privacy aspects of current legislation.