The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) will be joining the Department of Labour and a number of other government organizations in going cashless in New Providence starting Monday, June 7. The Department of Labour made its transition on June 1, 2021. With the integration of the new Bahamas Digital Payment Platform (DigiPay), these two entities will now process payments via debit or credit card or with cash at third-party vendors Omni Financial, Sun Cash, or Cash & Go.

“The transitions to cashless environments represent our administration’s larger goal of modernizing the way the government does business with Bahamians,” said Minister of State for Finance J. Kwasi Thompson. “By diversifying the payment methods we accept and continuing to grow the number of services offered online, it is now easier than ever to do just that. With modern technology comes not only safer and more efficient ways of handling government payments, but also increased accessibility to our services. Our DigiPay platform streamlines our revenue collection by providing a single payment platform for our ministries, departments, and agencies. Revenue is reported in real- time to the Treasury Financial Management System.”

The RBPF will be accepting debit or credit card payments in-office for character references, gun license renewals, new gun license certificates, traffic reports, towing fees, and chassis checks. Applications and payments for many of the RBPF services can also be made online via the government’s growing service portal MyGateway.gov.bs.

The Department of Labour similarly went cashless in New Providence on June 1, 2021, with the same payment facilities as the Police Force.

While the current phase only applies to the operations in New Providence, residents in the Family Islands can expect similar cashless environments and online access to the Department of Labour and RBPF to be introduced by the end of the month.

“As we continue to revive our economy after the damaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Dorian, DigiPay and its cashless environments will steadily assist our revenue collection and help to improve access to government services.” said Minister Thompson.

The Ministry of Finance will continue with its cashless initiative throughout the remainder of the year. The Customs Department and Road Traffic Department are among the agencies scheduled to begin the transition in earnest by December.