BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jun 17, CMC – The Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados (CBB), Dr. Kevin Greenidge Wednesday apologised for his remarks made at a news conference earlier this week when he was asked to indicate the cost of the national instant payment platform, BiMPay, that was launched here on Friday night.
“My response was inappropriate A reporter asked me a fair question on the cost of BimPay and I should have answered directly. There’s no place for making light of a question like that and there’s no place for seemingly dismissive of the public’s right to know how public resources are being used,” Greenidge said in a video message apologising for his remarks.
During the news conference, Greenidge had declined to disclose the development and operational cost of the new national instant payment platform, telling the report “As much as you would like to hear, I ain’t putting no figure on this. Read our financial reports and you’ll see it embedded in there”.
He said also that the public’s focus should be on the platform’s value and purpose rather than its specific cost.
But in his apology, Greenidge said “let me say first, I am sorry.
“I apologise to a young reporter who was simply doing his job. I also apologise to anyone who heard my response and felt that I was being disrespectful, evasive or unwilling to account to the people of Barbados.
“That was not my intention. That’s not who I am. But I accept that that’s how it came across,” he said, adding that the reasonhe hesitated at the time was that he did not want the discussion to reduce BimPay “ to one figure without explaining what that figure covers.
“But that’s not an excuse. In public finance, the answer cannot be just go and read the reports. The answer should be clear.”
He said that the cost of BimPay to date for phase one, the entire payment infrastructure, not just the app, is approximately BDS$6.7 million (One BDS$=US$0.50 cents) against an approved budget of BDS$10 million.
“We are well within budget and the work continues to be delivered in phases and as soon as the remaining work is completed and reconciled through the normal processes, we will report those costs as well.”
Greenidge said that BimPay is a national instant payment system and that it is an infrastructure that allows money to move between banks, credit unions, in real time, safely, securely, and at any hour.
“Prior to the introduction of this system, our payment system was predominantly private-owned. BimPay reduces the cost of doing business because there are no fees for individuals and fees for micro and small businesses have been capped.”
He said full public ownership of this new national payment system by the Central Bank of Barbados allows Barbadians this flexibility among other benefits.
“I’m also aware that some Barbadians have had difficulty with the app, particularly with registration, obtaining tokens, and with linking multiple accounts. I understand the frustration. We are working with the banks, credit unions, and with our technical partners to fix those issues and to make the system easier to use.”
Greenidge said that this is an important project, but public confidence is even more important, and therefore when ”I miss that, I will always own it.
“There was never any intention to hide anything, as I’ve said before. You cannot hide expenses of this kind in public financial reporting to which I have referred. The Central Bank has always been prepared to explain clearly what has been spent, why it has been spent, and what Barbados is receiving for it.
“I have been committed to public explanation of economic and financial issues, as you know, for example in the expenditure series, and I’ve done that over the last couple of years,” he said, thanking the population for “holding me accountable
“We will continue to provide the information clearly, and we will continue doing the work with you to make the impact serve you and Barbados well.”
CMC/hg/ir/2026