Guyana fast-tracks national payments platform rollout

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Guyana plans to roll out a national payment platform and expand the citizens’ access to digital wallets within the next six months, President Irfaan Ali announced.

Ali announced the plan last March 23, during the ceremonial opening of a new branch of Demerara Bank Limited in Beterverwagting. He stated that he had already instructed the governor of Guyana’s central bank to develop a national payment platform that would be operational by September 2026, stressing the importance of ensuring national access to digital wallets.

The initiative is part of the broader strategy to modernize Guyana’s financial ecosystem and expand the country’s access to cashless transactions.

The next phase of the plan is to develop infrastructure to support seamless digital payments in Guyana, according to the president. This includes equipping businesses such as supermarkets and retail outlets in the South American country with technology that enables contactless payments, allowing customers to tap-to-pay or use their mobile devices.

In line with the plan, Demerara Bank is also expected to launch its own digital wallet within the next four to six months. Ali described the bank’s new branch as both an expansion of traditional banking and a welcome to digital transformation. He noted that deepening access to banking services will remain the central focus of the government’s development agenda.

“The opening of the new [Demerara] branch represents a continued expansion of traditional banking services but it also reminds us that the future lies in greater inclusion and digital transformation,” Ali added.

Continued popularity of digital payments worldwide

Digital payments have been surging since 2025, with an SNS Insider report predicting the market would reach $27.8 trillion by 2032. The report said that the rapidly changing business landscape and the need to integrate emerging technologies into existing workflows are among the factors driving the boom in digital payments.

In addition, the Global Payments Report 2025 found that digital payments accounted for over 80% of all e-commerce transactions in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region last year. The report, authored by Worldpay, a London-based company, noted that the use of digital payments has increased from 34% of e-commerce payments in 2014 to 66% in 2024. It included digital assets, digital wallets, and buy now, pay later platforms under the umbrella of digital payments.

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