“Nobody will be denied cash grants if they don’t have bank account” – Jagdeo assures  

Even as the Guyana Government is encouraging Guyanese to open bank accounts ahead of the new cash grant cycle, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has reassured that no one will be excluded from the cash payouts if they do not have an account set up.
“Nobody will be denied their cash grant because they don’t have a bank account,” Jagdeo declared during his press conference on Thursday.
His clarification came on the heels of President Dr Irfaan Ali on Wednesday announcing that before the end of this year, he will be announcing major cash transfers for various groups of Guyanese that will be distributed next year.
The Head of State explained that the cash payout will tie into the digitising efforts that his Government has been undertaking over the last few years to ensure the disbursements are done is systemic way and transparent manner. Hence, he urged Guyanese to ensure they open bank accounts before the cash payout commences in the new year.
But according to the Vice President, the Government has been intensely examining this model.
“We are obsessing over this issue… How do we get all of our people connected to the financial system – even people who live in…the most remote parts of our country,” he noted.
In fact, he cited some challenges during the last cash grant exercise in some areas like Region One (Barima Waini), where persons collected their cheques but had no means of cashing it so, the teams had to return to the areas to change the cheques.
VP Jagdeo posited that this is where innovations like fintech, internet banking and mobile banking play an important role. “That’s what we are working on aggressively. To see whether through the taxation system, we can encourage people to provide that service.”
Additionally, he noted that Government is also looking at setting up electronic terminals in strategic locations in the hinterland regions, where it is not feasible to establish a bank, so that persons can go to access cash.
“So, say there are five sub-districts in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). They can all have like a central area where people can go. Like Lethem, Annai, Karasabai, or Aishalton, or one of those places, and then they can come to those areas and do banking transactions. You’re not going to be able to have full-fledged banks, but you know those kinds of units,” the VP noted.
Nevertheless, Jagdeo went onto echo the sentiments expressed by President Ali, urging Guyanese to open up bank accounts.
“We are hoping that more and more people will be doing this, and then it’s easier for us to put money. You don’t have to go and join a line to get your money or something like that… It gets paid into your account. That’s where we want to move the country to. “But nobody would be excluded because they don’t have a bank account. We’re not going to do that, especially in the remote areas in the country,” he reassured.
In his announcement on Wednesday, President Ali pointed out that the Guyana Government has been working along with stakeholders in the local financial sector, including commercial banks, to remove the hassle and archaic systems as it relates to banking transactions, including opening new bank accounts.
“You have seen the improvement. You can now open your account online [with] very minimal requirements for accounts below one million dollars and so on. So, there’s no excuse. We want every Guyanese to own their own bank account so that this digital transfer would be easy and efficient and, of course, transparent,” the Head of State noted.
The Guyanese leader noted that the Government will be putting the mechanism in place and finalising the system of delivering the cash grants, as he implored Guyanese to similarly do the same and ensure their bank accounts are in order so that the cash pay-outs can be seamlessly done.
Only last week, it was announced that from November 1, persons will be able to open bank accounts online at four major local commercial banks.
Over the years, the Guyana Government has been collaborating with local banks to modernise operations, expand access, and align Guyana’s financial system with its growing global stature.
In an invited comment, the Governor of the Central Bank expressed that this is a significant development in the local banking sector.