The Family Island situation is anything unlike New Providence ........... most FIs are larger, settlements are scattered and more expansive in distance, at least 60% of the FI population are over 55 and retired, most senior citizens do not drive, there are no public transportation services, most islands have unreliable internet service, most transactions are done in cash, most seniors like one-on-one services, most seniors are averse to using ATMs, many seniors live alone without access to children, most seniors depend on NIB, Post Office accounts are preferred ......... So internet banking is not a popular option ........... Webshops are also a factor ................... Rethink this URCA

WEBSHOPS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL!!!!

So who will fill the ATM machines, if they are left behind?
Out island businesses will do what with cash receipts? Are we really back to mattresses?

Mudda: he was appointed by the PLP. Like Perry, he's trying to come up with something as his legacy for a generally lacklustre and unproductive tenure where mobile liberalization will be the only claimed accomplishment.

For this proposal to succeed, the Bahamas would have to become as sophisticated as those Bank of America commercials we see on TV where you scan a check and deposit it in your account or the other TV commercial where the guy scans his smartphone in front of a cash register and the cost of whatever he is purchasing is deducted from his bank account just like a debit card. The smartphone then becomes the means to carry out banking and payment transactions.

However, as one writer points out most Family Islands don't have Internet, much less the high speed internet or Wi-Fi that such a program would require. And this proposal coming from the same geniuses at URCA who have said that they are postponing further work on the Universal Service Obligations on BTC and Cable Bahamas, which required Cable Bahamas to have high speed internet in every island in the Bahamas (but so far they only have it in parts of the 4 islands where they provide digital TV services) and for BTC to have dial-up internet everywhere as well, although BTC says it hardly provides dial-up anywhere now and seems to be on the way to providing fibre to the home in order to further its Flow TV service. The other issue to resolve is trust in the system, that my deposits will show up, that I won't have fraudulent or double charges deducted from my account, that my account or the bank won't get hacked, who and how do I contact the bank if there's an error or a problem, how quickly will my problem get resolved without any physical person or building to go to when they want to complain? Can the banks or phone companies recoup their investment and how long will it take? What kind of an uptake will it have? Lots of questions, few answers at this time.

@DaGoobs - Good Points. As an operative of the last corrupt PLP government, Randy Dorsett really needs to move on. He couldn't cut it as a partner at Graham, Thompson & Co. (GTC) and certainly does not have what it takes to be Chairman of URCA or a director of any other enterprise for that matter. Besides being notoriously lazy and undisciplined, some have been heard to say his ethics are questionable.

US banking apps let you deposit checks by taking pictures. I guess familt islanders will be signing up with US banks.

True .......... After all, Tanzania and Kenya in East Africa lead the world in the use of smartphones to do banking transactions ....... There is hope for Bahamians

You may find use of U.S. banking apps requires a U.S. ISP

You're probably right Mudda, and why would a Bahamian want to use a U.S. bank? Perhaps if Government would concentrate on getting our economy back on some sort of track as expeditiously as possible we can forestall a mass exodus of the remaining banks. It is, after all, about their bottom line.