By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Customers yesterday complained they have suffered delays and challenges in recovering their funds from a Bahamian digital payments provider which admitted it is currently enduring “a bad time”.

Andrew Allen and his brother, William Allen junior, blamed Island Pay’s struggles on “an extremely disruptive and unhealthy relationship” with its third-party technology provider after the company announced that its “legacy” platform “has been shut down” and clients can no longer use it to access their electronic wallets and the funds contained in them.

The digital payments provider, in a newspaper advertisement issued yesterday, asked hundreds of clients to visit its Sandyport offices and bring their Know Your Customer (KYC) verification documents and bank account details so that it can transfer the monies due and owing to them.

However, several customers told Tribune Business that since complying with this request, and providing Island Pay with their KYC identification and bank account details, they have heard nothing for several weeks and their funds have yet to be returned.

Island Pay’s notice, which said the refunds were part of a “five-month platform migration” raised more questions than answers. The Allens, who last December told Tribune Business they had become Island Pay’s chairman and managing director, vehemently denied to Tribune Business last night that the notice was a ‘stalling tactic’ or attempt to play for time over client payouts.

They pledged that they are seeking to resolve all outstanding customer refunds this week, and sought to blame Island Pay’s woes on a dispute with their third-party technology provider for which they provided no details. The brothers added that they were due to meet with Island Pay staff today, and would be prepared to say more after that.

But one Island Pay customer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they only found out they could not access their electronic wallet - and the funds it contained - by chance when they went to check it. They added that, after finally tracking down a representative of the digital payments provider and learning what was happening, they provided all the KYC and bank account details but have yet to be paid.

“We’ve been through the process they initiated. We weren’t told anything about they were having an issue with the platform or any concerns,” they said. “It was only when I checked about two months ago that I realised I did not have access to my account.

“I immediately started calling. None of the numbers I tried go through to anyone, no human being. I went to the website, no human being. It became very suspicious. The only contact was information that was on the website.” The source said it was only when they tracked down an Island Pay representative that they learned of the technology platform woes, the ‘migration’ plan and refunds.

But, after visiting Island Pay’s Sandyport offices and providing the KYC and bank account details, they added it has “been more than two weeks” and they have still to be refunded the contents of their electronic wallet. “They’re not telling people; they’re not giving clients notice,” the source said. “There’s no communication with individuals.

“I’m getting the distinct impression that unless clients actually use the account and become aware there is a problem, and can’t access their funds, only then will they contact you.” Other contacts questioned why Island Pay was only starting a “five-month migration” to a new platform now, as such moves are usually planned and executed well in advance to ensure a smooth and seamless transition.

“Any migration that takes five months must be running on the back of a donkey,” one source said, challenging why Island Pay in effect is requiring clients to submit the same KYC details they used to open their electronic wallet account again to receive their funds. 

It was last night unclear whether the situation has attracted the regulatory attention of the Central Bank as its governor, John Rolle, could not be reached by phone and did not respond to messages seeking comment before press time last night.

However, Andrew Allen told Tribune Business last night that Island Pay is “looking to resolve this this week” when it comes to the return of client funds from its legacy platform. The company’s principals are due to meet staff today, and he added that his family have in effect been carrying the digital payments provider financially and “paying the obligations as quickly as we can”.

Asserting that all clients remaining to be paid have been identified, and “quite a few” already have been refunded, Andrew Allen said ownership and management are seeking to make Island Pay “ship shape moving forward”. 

“A company wants to get ahead of news in the marketplace,” he said. “This has come at a bad time.... This is not a new thing. We’ve resolved a lot of it already. We rely on external providers, technology vendors, and we are going to deal with that through our own platform.

“We cannot rely on third party providers. We’ve been trying this for some time. We’ve had an extremely disruptive and unhealthy relationship with our partners.” William Allen Jnr pledged: “We are getting the customers their money. There may be some confusion with names that might hold it up when you have a lot of things happening. One or two customers may have extended waits.”

Andrew Allen had last year unveiled ambitions to rapidly expand Island Pay’s network of self-pay kiosks and automated teller machines (ATM) to up to 120 locations via a roll-out set to begin in early 2025.

Revealing that Exuma was the first island in Island Pay’s sights, he told this newspaper it was also in negotiations with the National Insurance Board (NIB) to resume the role it fulfilled during the COVID-19 pandemic when it facilitated thousands of electronic payments of unemployment benefits on the social security system’s behalf.

And, while seeking to meet the demand for financial and payment services on islands “abandoned” by commercial banks and their branches, Island Pay’s chairman said it was already looking ahead to potential expansion beyond The Bahamas’ borders with potential moves into the Caribbean and Latin American regions come 2026.

“Payments in the Family Islands are already being facilitated by ourselves,” Andrew Allen told Tribune Business then. “We intend to be huge. We intend to roll-out at least 100-120 ATMs throughout the islands and be in all major islands. We intend to saturate the islands where the banks have pulled out. We’re looking to begin the roll-out in the Family Islands in January.”

“The plan is to roll-out immediately, beginning with Exuma, and to saturate Exuma, Long Island, Andros, Inagua, Eleuthera this coming year, every month of the year, and to make sure, now we have stabilised ourselves and are under new leadership, to consummate the various relationships that were always in the works.”