By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

NORTH Andros has been left without easy access to cash for an “extended period of time” after the area’s sole automated banking machine (ABM) was vandalised.

Darin Bethel, the North Andros Chamber of Commerce president, while condemning the “ignorant” actions of those responsible yesterday suggested the culprits may also have been motivated by “frustration” as the Scotiabank ATM had been inoperable for the previous three weeks.

“Sometimes people are just ignorant. I’m assuming somebody went in there frustrated and just vandalised it,” he said, pointing out that North Andros businesses and residents had experienced frequent challenges with that ABM over the past two years. “The ATM has been out of service for about the past three weeks, but we’ve been having problems with it for two years.”

Mr Bethel said residents and businesses in North and Central Andros “will have to deal with” the inconvenience of their sole ABM being out of service, and questioned why the access door was not locked as it had been out of service for several weeks.

The Chamber chief said: “It’s always on and off, and is often damaged because they come in three times a week to check it. Sometimes they come in to just pick up the money and do not fix it because they do not have the parts. It’s been giving problems on and off for two years and it’s not the first time that ATM has been vandalised.

“The community will have to deal with it. I don’t understand why they didn’t have cameras in that place or have the land- lord lock the door knowing that the machine was out of operation. The door shouldn’t have been left open, and they should have had cameras so that we can know who did it because that’s just ridiculous.”

North Andros and many Family Island economies are still heavily reliant on cash and access to it for their smooth functioning despite the Central Bank and commercial banking industry’s ongoing push to drive Bahamians to digital and online payments.

Mr Bethel said North Andros residents have already found alternative ways to conduct banking due to how often the ABM machine is out of service. He explained that some business owners have resorted to sending pilots to conduct their banking business in New Providence for a nominal fee.

He added: “It will go back to what we have been doing. People have been making the sacrifice to travel when they have to do banking. Some business owners send their deposits to Nassau with the pilots in the morning.

“Sometimes people pick it up from the pilot. Other pilots have been offering that service. One particular pilot will take your ATM card and go to the bank to deposit and withdraw funds, and charge them $20. That’s how they’ve been surviving.”

Scotiabank, in a statement, condemned the vandalism and said local authorities are investigating the issue. “Scotiabank wishes to condemn the recent incident of vandalism that has affected the operation of our Automated Banking Machine (ABM) located in Nicholl’s Town, Andros”, it added.

“As a result, the machine has been left inoperable and will be unavailable for use by members of the public for an extended period of time. We are presently assessing the extensive damage done with all relevant stakeholders to determine the timeframe for service restoration. We are also co-operating with the authorities on an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.”