Fintech & digital payments rules in Bahamas (2026)

The Payment Systems Act 2012 and Payment Instruments (Oversight) Regulations 2017 require non-bank payment institutions and e-money issuers to obtain a Central Bank licence. Minimum paid-up capital of USD 100,000 and annual fees of BSD 10,000 apply, with mandatory physical presence including a CEO, Compliance Officer, and Money Laundering Reporting Officer.

The Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act 2024, administered by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, came into force on 29 July 2024, replacing the 2020 DARE Act. It expanded licensing coverage to advisory/management services, derivatives, staking, and stablecoins, while expressly prohibiting algorithmic stablecoins, aligned with IOSCO and FATF standards.

The Bahamas launched the Sand Dollar, the world's first retail CBDC, in October 2020. Nine Authorised Financial Institutions — banks, money transmission businesses, credit unions, and payment service providers — are cleared to distribute it, governed by the Electronic Bahamian Dollars Regulations 2021. Proposals to mandate commercial bank participation are under active consideration.

The Central Bank selected Montran Corporation to build a national Fast Payment System (FPS) targeting a Q1 2027 go-live. The FPS will interoperate with the existing ACH, RTGS, and Sand Dollar CBDC infrastructure, creating one of the first combined real-time payment and live CBDC environments globally.

Traditional payment institutions and e-money issuers are supervised by the Central Bank of The Bahamas under the Payment Systems Act, while fintech entities dealing in digital assets (crypto exchanges, stablecoin issuers, digital asset managers) fall under the Securities Commission of The Bahamas under DARE 2024, each authority maintaining distinct licensing tracks.

No specific BNPL regulatory framework or formal open banking mandate has been enacted as of mid-2026. Ongoing FPS and CBDC interoperability work is expected to lay infrastructure for open finance products, but dedicated BNPL and open banking rules remain absent from the regulatory calendar.