Guyana is moving rapidly toward a future defined by digital connectivity and financial inclusivity as the government completes its foundational work on a new national payment platform.

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has disclosed that the Bank of Guyana has finalised the architecture for this system and two local banks have already signalled their readiness to lead the charge.

Speaking at the opening ceremony for the 2026 Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, the president said that this system will modernise how money moves across the country, shifting from a cash heavy society to one built on a secure and efficient digital backbone.

“I am pleased to tell you that we have completed the process at the Central Bank of building out the national payment platform and two local banks are ready to go completely on the digital platform. They have already been approved so that we can now have digital wallets, digital payment systems and digital transfers here in Guyana, and that will be the new standard,” he said.

The head of state added that the government is also linking this technological advancement with financial sector reforms to ensure that no one is left behind. In this regard, he outlined plans for the establishment of the Guyana Development Bank, which is aimed at providing crucial financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In this year’s budget, some $100 million has been set aside to bring this initiative to fruition.

“More importantly, we are backing them with technical expertise by putting together a technical group that will transfer their ideas into a bankable proposal, and hand-hold them through the process of management in creating viable and sustainable enterprises,” the president explained.

The digital transformation will also be extended to streamline public sector operations and ensure that government service is delivered with speed and accuracy. President Ali further outlined the government’s vision for a citizen-centric digital ecosystem where the entire government is transformed on a technological platform to ensure the removal of human biases as far as possible.

“But what is the use of all of this is we don’t have a national security system that ensures those who come are safe, our financial systems are safe and our people are safe? That is why we are investing in an integrated security model, a safe country project. And it is not about tracking; it is about preventing crime. And we are not doing this the old way. We are doing this using tomorrow’s technology,” the president further noted.