The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FAMILY Island residents were yesterday told by a Bahamian payments solution provider: "Don't worry about a thing" when it comes to commercial bank pull-outs.

Dr Johnathan Rodgers, the Omni Financial Group's founding partner, pledged that the company was "on the way" to fill the void left by Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and other Canadian-owned banks as a result of multiple branch closures.

Their actions have left some locations, such as Long Island, without a functioning commercial bank, but Dr Rodgers' said Omni's planned expansion over the next 18 months would result in it providing "banking-like services" throughout the Bahamas.

Describing the bank exits as part of the "creative destruction" he had identified in his recent Bahamas Business Outlook address, Dr Rodgers said: "Banks can be moving out of the Family Islands, and maybe the Bahamas, but with the help of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and blessing of the Central Bank of the Bahamas we'll be providing banking-like services in the Family Islands.

"We plan to do this in each of the Family Islands over the next 18 months. Family Islanders, I don't want you to miss a beat. Don't worry about a thing. We're on the way. I guarantee you our services will be faster, friendlier and cheaper. If not, we will pay for the transfer ourselves."

Maria Attademo-Hirt, the Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) Bahamas country representative, said electronic payments providers such as Omni could ensure that this nation does not "close the door" on Family Island communities hit by commercial bank withdrawals.

She added that the bank exits were occurring for "reasons we can understand", and suggested new business models were required for financial inclusion and ensuring Bahamian communities were not underserved by financial services.