Fintech & digital payments rules in Barbados (2026)

The National Payment System Act was passed by Parliament in February 2021, giving the Central Bank of Barbados statutory responsibility for oversight, regulation and development of the payment system, including payment system participants, clearing/settlement, securities processing and electronic money instruments.

Under Section 9 of the NPSA, any entity seeking to provide a payment service must apply for a licence. The CBB only accepts applications from companies with a physical presence in Barbados, using the official form, a BBD 2,000 fee, and a 'fit and proper' assessment of shareholders, directors and key officers.

In September 2025 the CBB released three documents — an Oversight Policy Framework, a Licensing & Authorisation Framework, and a Supervisory Framework. Relevant entities were given three months to submit a compliance programme and six months to achieve full NPSA compliance, including licensing where required.

Subsidiary legislation — the National Payment System (Payment Services and Electronic Money) Regulations, S.I. 2026 No. 46 — was issued to detail the regime for payment services and e-money under the NPSA.

The CBB, working with New York-based provider Montran, is launching BiMPay, a national instant payment system enabling sub-10-second, interoperable 24/7/365 transfers with a wallet, QR payments, alias/proxy lookup and Request-to-Pay. The go-live date was revised to 12 June 2026 (not yet live as of 25 May 2026).

The Central Bank and the Financial Services Commission jointly operate a Regulatory Sandbox (established 2018) allowing live testing of innovative fintech products under supervision; it has been used by firms such as Bitt Digital. No dedicated open-banking mandate or specific BNPL regime was identified in official sources.