The Tribune

THE Port Department will soon launch its online portal, which will make applications and their payment processes available electronically.

The system will go live on Monday, May 3.

DigiPay, The Bahamas' digital payment platform, has provided the gateway to facilitate the government's move towards modernisation.

Yesterday at a Zoom press conference, Minister of State for Finance Kwasi Thompson made the announcement, pushing the Port Department towards modernisation and joining the Ministry of Immigration and Financial Services and the judiciary, which began launching their systems late last year.

The DigiPay system also will be taking payments in the form of the country’s digital currency, the Sand Dollar.

“The DigiPay integration will also soon be able to accept payments with Sand Dollar, the country’s new and revolutionary digital currency,” Mr Thompson said. “As the government continues to partner with the Central Bank of The Bahamas on its national roll out, our acceptance of the Sand Dollar as payment for government services will aid in expanding the digital currency’s platform and building an ecosystem for it to thrive.

“DigiPay’s ability to handle Sand Dollar transactions government-wide will allow for further digitisation throughout the government as their integration in payment and financial infrastructure progresses. Improving the ease of doing business with the government is a key priority for this administration, and I am proud of the transformative advancements we have made with DigiPay.”

Mr Thompson noted that with the Central Bank’s Sand Dollar in effect, The Bahamas is taking the top spot in the world for rolling out a digital currency, outranking China and Cambodia.

“With yet another government service brought online, citizens will have less wait times, shorter lines and more convenience,” he continued. “I congratulate the teams at the Ministry of Finance, the Port Department and the Department of Digital Transformation on another milestone achievement.”

Those engaged in the Bahamian boating and shipping industry worldwide will now have the new online portal at their fingertips as the Port Dept fully embraces the goal of making applications and payment processes available electronically.

“This innovative payment solution has the ability to seamlessly integrate with a wide range of business processes and systems throughout the government, allowing for a more accountable collection of government revenue,” Mr Thompson said.

“With real time reporting into the Treasury Financial Management System, DigiPay puts added controls in place to streamline revenue reporting for all government agencies, ministries and departments. Already, DigiPay has been used to propel several government entities into the 21st Century. The Department of Immigration was the first to adopt this payment platform in October 2020 and has since maintained a consistent inflow of revenue.”

The judiciary celebrated the launch of DigiPay just last month, which now allows customers to make debit or credit card payments in addition to cash in the Magistrates and Supreme Courts and the Court of Appeal.

DigiPay has made it possible for citizens in New Providence, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Abaco and North Andros aged eighteen years or older to apply and pay for a range of government services online.

“These services include certified copies of birth, death and marriage certificates, a police record, driver’s licence renewal and ePassport renewal,” Mr Thompson explained. “DigiPay has been managing transactions worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on a daily basis since its implementation and will continue to do so with the onboarding of the Port Department and other government establishments.

“The digitisation of the Port’s processes will allow for enhanced management and storage of data; as well as the verification of clients’ information. The DigiPay platform will facilitate a secure payment process to support the Port’s new web services. Using the online portal, customers will be able to pay for applications with their credit or debit cards.”

When the system is used, customers will instantly receive payment invoices and updated receipts via SMS and email.