ECCB – an Institute of the OECS

Friday, July 6, 2018 — Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis, 6 July 2018 – As part of its mandate to provide general oversight of the payment and settlements system, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has reconstituted the Eastern Caribbean Payments Council.

The Payments Council was first established in 2006 to provide advice on and oversight of the operations and developments of the payments system. It is responsible for facilitating the efficient and stable functioning of the payments system in the ECCU. The Payments Council is also charged with ensuring the security and integrity of payments and settlement systems in the ECCU; and promoting the innovative nature of payments, the safety of cashless payments and their accessibility to users.

Deputy Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Trevor Brathwaite is the Chairman of the reconstituted Payments Council. Brathwaite says the reconstitution of the Payments Council is timely given the increase in the use of technology to conduct payments and the need to ensure that citizens of the region are not adversely affected by the developments taking place in the payments and settlements system.

At its first meeting held on 28 June, the Payment Council considered the revised Terms of Reference of the Council and the Assessment of the ECCU Payments System, which The World Bank conducted in 2017. The Council also discussed a proposed vision for the payments system in the ECCU.

Two areas of immediate focus for the reconstituted Payments Council will be to design a road map for the future of the payment system in the ECCU and to provide advice for the drafting of Regulations to accompany the Payment System Act.

The other members of the Eastern Caribbean Payments Council are:

Senior Officer from the ECCB, Francis Fontenelle
President of the ECCU Bankers Association, Michael Spencer
Secretary of the ECCU Bankers Association, Fleur Nichols
Representative of the Caribbean Association of Bankers, Sophie Thomas-Durand
Member of the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission (ECSRC),
Dr Vincent Richards; and
Telecommunications Expert, Embert Charles