The Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) is working with local banks to make it easier and possibly cheaper for small businesses to open and operate merchant accounts, especially in regards to processing credit and debit card payments, SBDC Executive Director Davinia Blair said yesterday. Blair, who was the speaker at an InspiredBy talk at The Current at Baha Mar, said she has heard numerous complaints about the process of opening a merchant account and the expense associated with it. She said the process has proven to be onerous and requires a lot of time. However, she contended the SBDC is addressing this problem with the banks, especially those the SBDC works with. She added that technology has been a challenge, especially on the Family Islands, though she said the penetration and use of technology in business is much better than it was several years ago. She added that the idea of a cashless Bahamas has not been aggressively pushed because of the concern for older people, especially those on the Family Islands. However, she said even the older generation is becoming more technologically advanced and is using the products. The Central Bank of The Bahamas is putting together a pilot project to use technology to advance the unbanked on the Family Islands. It recently announced that it has found a technology company to help move the project forward with a digital Bahamian currency. Blair said it will be the government’s challenge, through policy to bridge the technological and financial divide. She added that the “bottleneck” in small business persons’ processes should not be due to their payment systems. Via: thenassauguardian.com

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest delivered promising news for entrepreneurs on Wednesday when he revealed that the government has been in talks with the insurance industry, seeking a way for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to be able to access affordable insurance packages, especially liability insurance. Turnquest made the announcement while revealing that Canadian commercial banks Scotiabank and RBC Royal Bank of Canada have joined the Access Accelerator/ Small Business Development Center (SBDC) as funding partners. He also revealed that the new funding partners have brought the initial funding for entrepreneurs up to $9 million from $5 million. Turnquest acknowledged that access to liability insurance for small tour operators has largely been a challenge. “On the tourism side, we know that there are some heavy insurance requirements because you’re dealing with the public, you’re dealing with a litigious society that most of our guests come from, so there is a significant requirement for insurance,” Turnquest said. “We’ve had some initial conversations with insurance industry stakeholders about this, and we are hopeful that we will be able to develop a program that sees some subsidy or support that will help us to lower the cost of obtaining that kind of insurance and thus give access to our local service providers.” Cruise ship operators, who bring the bulk of tourists to The Bahamas, often require tour operators to have $1 million in liability insurance in order for their tour packages to be sold onboard the ship. One insurance provider told Guardian Business that it could cost a small tour operator from $10,000 to $15,000 to access an insurance premium as high as $1 million. Via: thenassauguardian.com