A new electronic banking system designed to make life easier for Bahamian bosses and tens of thousands of employees is set to launch next week.
Wednesday is D-Day for the new electronic ‘direct credit’ system being introduced by the Bahamas Automated Clearing House (BACH)which will be able to handle any form of bulk payment, whether it is a company’s payroll, paying out a pension or paying a dividend to shareholders, no matter how many.
And the key thing for employers and their workers is that, as well as doing away with the weekly or monthly paycheck which then needs to be cashed, no longer will companies and their staff have to use the same bank to have wages paid into an account. Often workers have to open up an account with the bank their employers use, but from Wednesday that will no longer be necessary.
Brian Smith, BACH’s business manager said: “We will be going live with direct credits on Wednesday. It is another major step forward. This will allow people to do payrolls and bulk payments electronically rather than issue volumes of checks. So if you were for instance a paying a payroll, or you are paying a pension or if you are paying a dividend, we’ll be able to work with your bank to do direct credits.
“It is pretty big news as far as the business community is concerned. Right now it doesn’t speak to the individual consumer, that’s going to be yet another phase.
