DESTINY JOHNSON
Journal Staff Writer

The Central Bank of The Bahamas has pushed back the date for the removal of cheques to
sometime in 2026.
In December 2021, Central Bank had announced the elimination of domestic cheques to
commence late 2024, but earlier this month the deadline was adjusted.
Central Bank of The Bahamas Governor John Rolle said this gives Bahamians a bit more time to
adjust to cashless payments.
“We are looking at how we can, you know, leap The Bahamas to an even better state in terms of
the digital payment space and I know that you know one of the refrains is around the
telecommunications infrastructure etcetera. But in spite of those hang ups, it’s still incumbent
that we build the payment system up to the standards that aligns The Bahamas with what’s
happening in the rest of the world. So, our focus is really on continuing to get the improvements
in the space so that so that the public can see the alternatives to cheques and there has been quite
an amount of improvements that have already happened, even in terms of the online transfer
system that the banks used,” the governor said.
He added that there are also concerns from Bahamians about the security of full digital options.
“This is a train that is not going to stop based upon our personal level of confidence. So, it’s
incumbent upon us to help prepare the Bahamian banking public for more of the change and the
change that are happening are also international. If we’re going to be plugged in with the rest of
the world at the level of which the rest of the world is moving for payments, we’re also going to
have to make certain additional advances in our local payment space. So that’s also a motivation
and a focus that we we’re going to be putting our emphasis upon in the next immediate periods,”
Mr. Rolle said.
Rolle said the elimination of this form of payment will proactively address financial inclusion
and promote legitimate access to alternatives, for both individuals and businesses as well as
influence banks to consider positive and consistent pricing incentive structures across the
financial sector.