BARBADOS-Central Bank advises on “Penny Test” deposits to accounts.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) Tuesday said that it is working with various stakeholders to conduct a “penny test” as part of the process to identify and address the incorrectly formatted account information that led to some workers not receiving their salaries on time.

Last weekend, the CBB said it was aware of concerns from some employees who have not received their salaries on time and have linked those delays to the newly launched national instant payment platform, BiMPay.

“The Bank wishes to clarify that the issue does not relate to a failure of the BiMPay payment rail. In the cases brought to the Bank’s attention, the delays relate to account information submitted in a format that does not meet the validation requirements for processing through BiMPay,” the CBB said in a statement.

BiMPay is Barbados’ national instant payment system. Since interbank transfers resumed on BiMPay on June 13, the CBB said the BiMPay payment rail has successfully processed 126,000 transactions totaling BDS$210 million (1 BDS$ = US$0.50).

In its latest statement, the CBB said that, as part of the process to identify and address the incorrectly formatted account information, some commercial banks and credit unions are working with government and private-sector employers to conduct a “penny test.”

“The test involves an entity depositing one cent into the accounts that receive these payments, to confirm that the account information on file is correctly formatted. A successful transfer indicates that the information is in the required format. Where a transfer is rejected, the information is corrected and validated,” the CBB said.

It said customers of commercial banks and members of credit unions who see a one-cent deposit on their accounts should therefore not be alarmed.

“Not all entities are conducting the penny test because some employers and financial institutions addressed any formatting issues before the transition to the BiMPay payment rail. “For that reason, not seeing a one-cent deposit does not mean there is an error in an accountholder’s information. Customers do not need to take any action. Where information needs to be corrected, the accountholder’s bank or credit union will contact them directly,” the CBB added.

It said that the penny tests were previously performed on selected pension payments and government interest payments, and that similar validation will be carried out on upcoming pension and Government interest payments.

“The Central Bank of Barbados remains committed to working with financial institutions, the private sector, Government, and other organizations to ensure that affected workers receive their salaries as quickly as possible, and to minimize the risk of further workers being affected.”

The CBB also reiterated that individuals and businesses earning less than BDS$10,000 per day do not pay to use BiMPay.