Credit union movement to roll out more digital services

Major moves by the local credit union movement to roll-out more digital products and services, in a bid to save members from paying cumbersome ATM fees.

General Manager of the Barbados Co-operative & Credit Union League, Anthony Pilgrim, outlined some of the steps being taken, during a press briefing today.

He said already the Barbados Public Workers and City of Bridgetown Co-operative Credit Unions, have signed on to the Automated Clearing House which allows for real-time transactions.

However, he notes digital solutions, the necessary infrastructure and robust cyber security, can be expensive to roll out for smaller credit unions.

According to Mr. Pilgrim, the sector has now reached three billion dollars in assets, and is also seeing continued growth in membership, which now stands at over 230,000.

Based on recent discussions with the Ministry of Finance and the Financial Services Commission, officials are also upbeat about the possibility of being admitted into the Deposit Insurance Fund, by year-end.

Dave Grace, who conducted two studies on the matter, says currently depositors at a bank are insured up to 25,000 dollars.

He’s suggesting credit union members should be entitled to the same.

Several pieces of legislation will need to be amended to make this possible, including the Co-operative Society, Deposit Insurance and Solvency Acts.

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