Cave Shepherd Card (Barbados) Inc., which trades as Payce Digital, is borrowing $10 million from Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Invest to make financial services more accessible to more Barbadians.
They expect this to be achieved largely by using the funding to grow Payce’s credit card loan portfolio by focusing on serving low- and middle-income individuals.
Senior representatives of the two entities signed a partnership agreement in this regard yesterday at Payce’s corporate office at One Haggatt Hall, Haggatt Hall, St Michael.
The deal is the first IDB Invest transaction with a non-bank financial institution in Barbados and the first in local currency and local law.
IDB Invest will also help strengthen Payce’s operations as the company implements an enhanced corporate governance action plan. This will boost transparency, oversight and decision-making practices to support sustainable growth and industry best practices.
Roger Cave, Payce chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of its parent company Cave Shepherd & Co. Ltd, told the signing ceremony that the loan “represents so much more than just a financial investment”.
“As we actively explore new investment opportunities across the region, this partnership serves as a meaningful step forward in our commitment to building agile, technology-driven businesses that meet the evolving needs of Caribbean consumers and enterprises,” he said.
“This loan by IDB Invest will empower Payce Digital to accelerate its journey toward becoming a best in class player in the Barbados pavements landscape, delivering reliable, secure and innovative solutions across the financial services landscape, particularly for the underserved segments of our population who often face significant challenges in obtaining affordable credit card options.”
Payce CEO Alison Browne-Ellis said the loan would “allow us to expand capacity, introduce new features and strengthen our customer and product strategy in a meaningful and innovative way”.
New opportunities
She noted that this would be buttressed by the Central Bank’s new instant payment
system BiMPay, which goes into use on March 31, 2026.
“This initiative is poised to create new opportunities for non-financial services institutions and fintech companies, and to integrate more seamlessly into the broader financial services ecosystem, allowing companies like ourselves to curate products that better serve the underserved communities,” she said.
“Currently, our focus at Payce Digital is on laying the foundation that will allow us to lean forward into the future with increased and improved product enhancements, further elevating the desired digital customer experience, where we blend physical and digital experiences with a heavy focus on digital transformation.”
Browne-Ellis also shared that “beyond financing, this new partnership also opens doors for Payce Digital to work with the IDB’s Innovation Lab . . . to continue to shape our digital payments product solutions”.
Access to finance
IDB Invest managing director for the Caribbean, Darryl White, called the partnership with Payce “a step towards reshaping access to finance for the people who need it most and who could otherwise be left out”.
“The strong focus is on low- and middle-income individuals and I have seen the challenge sometimes with those individuals having access to credit,” he said.
“These are the segments that quite often face barriers when they seek financial services. They have credit scoring that is pretty rigid, high interest rates as well, but yet they are vital to the resilience and growth of the Barbadian economy.” (SC)
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