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The creation by the Central Government of a BES Bank is one of the scenarios to make banking in the Caribbean Netherlands more customer-friendly and efficient.
,, The electronic banking on the BES islands and between the BES and the European Netherlands is is not up to par. “says the Minister of Finance, Hoekstra, in a letter he sent today to the Second Chamber. ,, In particular, due to the fact that the payment and savings culture on the BES is strongly focused on cash and innovation is lagging behind, e.g., entrepreneurs make high costs for payments to suppliers outside the BES and it is sometimes difficult for consumers to access certain financial services or to make internet purchases. This leads to complaints, inhibits economic growth on the BES Islands and complicates the social development and self development of the inhabitants. ”
The Minister has therefore asked PwC to investigate how the banking services on the islands and between the islands and the European Netherlands can be improved. A problem is the small scale, which makes it difficult for banks to achieve sufficient returns. On the other hand, there are great efficiencies to be achieved if more banking services can be performed digitally and, in general, banking would become more electronically. According to the researchers, the public is not yet ready and therefore, this would be something for the future.
Hoekstra announces to consult with all parties on the islands and to inform the Second Chamber by the end of the year about the results.