The Central Bank of Barbados is set to go fully paperless by the end of this year, a transition expected to save the institution more than $70,000 annually in printing costs alone.
The announcement was made by Governor of the Central Bank, Dr Kevin Greenidge, as he addressed the Barbados Association of Administrative Professionals conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Wednesday.
“The Central Bank is going paperless, totally digital, totally paperless from December 21 2026.”
Speaking to Barbados Today, Dr Greenidge said the move is being driven by efficiency, cost savings, and the modernisation of the bank’s communication systems.
“We have made a decision that we, as a bank, will move to paperless and digital because it’s more efficient. You save time, you save money; we calculated how much money: over $75 000 you will save every year just in printing alone. It also makes a cleaner environment because you have an office space and without paper, it brings a cleaner environment.”
The governor explained that the initiative builds on the groundwork laid by his predecessors.
“When I first came, we also had this digital transformation; previous governors had pushed it. So what I did is take it to the next level, not just digital transformation, the paperless digital environment.”
He noted that the shift is already being embraced across the institution, supported by a suite of digital tools designed to replace traditional paper-based systems. These include platforms for document uploading, editing and real-time collaboration.
“I go and take away your notepad and your books, I have to give you something. We build the digital tools that allow you to upload, edit, and do documents online, collaborate, so more than one person can work on a document but even more now, everything is interactive. We supervise banks, applications — all that is digital.”
According to Dr Greenidge, the bank is already about 70 per cent of the way towards full implementation, with progress largely driven by staff buy-in and training.
“We are about 70 per cent there, and we’re moving. In fact, now the vision has a life of its own. Every person from the gardener right back up has a cell phone and a tool, whatever you need, but mostly a digital tool to be able to do their job and then we train them, we train them in all aspects of this. So I’m not just saying go and become digital, we are training, we have programs on it, every single one.”
He added that provisions are also being made for members of the public who may not be familiar with digital systems, ensuring that no one is left behind.
“We take care of everyone, so the public will interact with the central bank, mainly on two or so fronts. If they will come in terms of foreign exchange to get approvals, and that is totally online now, digital, and so when they come in, we will take you through the digital process, how you create an account and show you how to use it, so next time you don’t have to come in.”
In support of wider digital inclusion, the bank has partnered with the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP), distributing more than 200 iPads as part of ongoing digital literacy programmes.
At the same time, Dr Greenidge said the bank has strengthened its cybersecurity framework, including the establishment of a dedicated unit to monitor and manage threats.
“Our new BIMPay system is much stronger in respect of cybersecurity using AI and different technologies than the current system, and the banks are putting their own systems in place also. Be that as it may, you can never totally eliminate cybersecurity risk. What we are doing is also working with persons that explain how to use it, how to be aware of scams and frauds.”
He urged the public to remain vigilant, warning against sharing personal information or making payments under suspicious circumstances, and reminded that the bank would never request sensitive details over the phone.
“So we are training people to manage the human element at the same time ensuring that our security, capacity and capability is keeping in line with what’s going on. As much as possible to minimise the threat and my staff has to do mandatory training in terms of security. There are different programs that they’re training; basically, we will test staff and send an email with some phishing, and if you click on it, you get caught, so you gotta do some more training.”
Dr Greenidge credited staff enthusiasm as a key factor behind the rapid progress of the initiative, noting that the transition has effectively taken on a momentum of its own.
“Staff is excited because they see the benefits of it. They see the efficiency, so you can download it anywhere, you can use any document. Whether you’ve got your phone, your iPad, your, your laptop, all the documents are available to you, anything. Staff own it. They love it. They see the benefits of it, not having to tote a big bag of all these books and notes and being able to respond quickly and find a document; they love it.”
(LG)
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