In a matter of months, Guyana will have a fully operational national payment platform and universal access to digital wallets.

This was announced by President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali during the official opening of the Demerara Bank Limited Betervewagting, East Coast Demerara branch on Monday.

The president highlighted Guyana’s rapid shift toward a cashless economy aimed at increasing transparency and reducing the security risks associated with physical currency.

“In the next six months, I will also advise the governor of the central bank that we must be in a position that a national payment platform must be fully operational, and we must have access to digital wallets at a national level and at a national scale,” the president stated.

He noted that Demerara Bank is expected to launch its own integrated digital wallet for customers in as little as four to six weeks.

President Ali reminded that the government is actively building the necessary infrastructure to ensure supermarkets and retail outlets are equipped to accept phone-based payments.

“That is where we are going, and that is where the country is heading,” he emphasised.

This digital transition is part of a broader strategy to modernise the financial sector, which has already seen significant growth.

According to the President, Demerara Bank alone processed over 50,000 new electronic accounts and facilitated $50 billion in electronic transactions over the last nine months, signaling a massive shift in how Guyanese interact with money.