The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

More than half of Exuma residents are "likely" to use their mobile phones for financial transactions, making the island a fertile testing ground for the Central Bank's digital Bahamian currency pilot.

The regulator's survey of Exumian payments habits, unveiled prior to today's pilot Project Sand Dollar launch, revealed that 96 percent of those surveyed own a mobile phone, with 40 percent already using these devices for bill payments or online transactions.

The survey of 519 residents, which was conducted both on the phone and door-to-door in July 2019, found that 56 percent "were either likely or very likely" to use their mobile devices to pay bills in the future.

"The Exuma survey reveals a high rate of access to mobile devices, and a willingness of more than half of residents to undertake more payment on digital platforms," the Central Bank said. "It is revealed also that more convenient access to financial services could induce more individuals to partake in traditional banking services."

Some 93 percent of Exuma residents said they maintained a deposit account with a local bank, exceeding the 80 percent national average. However, just ten percent used online banking to access their deposit accounts.

"In an attempt to determine if residents' basic financial needs were being adequately addressed by banks, the survey queried individuals on the reason why any of them used web shop accounts," the Central Bank said. "Half of the residents surveyed indicated that they did not own such accounts.

"Further, while 36 percent admitted that web shops were used strictly for gaming, some nine percent of respondents disclosed that they used these accounts for both gaming and savings, and three percent strictly for storing their savings. The results showed that the greatest percentage (12 percent) of individuals who used web shop accounts for both gaming and savings were between 16-34 years-old."

This same age group was also most likely to use their mobile device to make and receive financial payments, and conduct transactions. "As an indication of the potential for a wider embrace of digital services, respondents were asked whether they owned a mobile device," the Central Bank said.

"The disclosed ownership rate was 96 percent. Half of the owners indicated that they did not use their mobile devices to perform any transactions during the last six months, while 40 percent used their devices to pay bills and 39 percent used them to make purchases.

"Regarding the likelihood of individuals using their mobile devices to pay bills in the future, 37 percent of those surveyed were so inclined. Nearly half of the younger respondents (16 and 34 years of age) were in this category. Moreover, 37 percent of respondents said that they would be very likely to make a future purchase on their mobile device."

Just two percent of those surveyed admitted to using web shop accounts for the movement of funds. "When asked about their willingness to use a mobile device to make or receive payments to conduct a number of activities, 56 percent of respondents stated that they were either likely or very likely to use a mobile device to pay a bill," the Central Bank added.

"Comparatively, 43 percent of respondents stated that they were either unlikely or very unlikely to use a mobile device to pay a bill... When questioned on their likeliness to use a mobile device to make a purchase, 34 percent of respondents said that they were very likely to do so, while 28 percent said that they would be very unlikely.

"Similar to the responses for making a purchase, 32 percent of respondents said they were very likely to receive a payment via mobile phone, while 28 percent said they were very unlikely to do so."

The Central Bank added that opportunities existed to focus consumer education on cyber safety relating to financial services, and said: "For Project Sand Dollar, public awareness around security within the digital currency infrastructure will also have to be heavily emphasised."