A three-member team from a Barbados based financial technology company, Bitt Inc., is scheduled to visit Montserrat at the end of October as part of the implementation process of a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Montserrat.
The MOU was signed in Februray 2018 and is aimed at creating a digital payments ecosystem in Montserrat. The agreement also provides a framework for Bitt Inc. to collaborate with the Government of Montserrat and all other local stakeholders including commercial banks and merchants, to implement the digital financial ecosystem, using a digital version of the EC Dollar, in a phased approach.
According to a release from the Government Information Unit (GIU), the Bitt team will visit the island on October 30 and 31 to meet with various stakeholders to discuss the financial technologies that will be introduced on Montserrat in accordance with the MOU. The team will also be conducting a demonstration of their mobile money (mMoney) application for consumers and merchants.
Chief Economist Raja Kadri recently spoke at the BITT conference in Barbados.
On Tuesday October 30, the team will meet with members of the public during a public meeting at the Montserrat Cultural Centre starting 9:00a.m. until 12noon, followed by a meeting with private sector representatives in the afternoon.
The team will also meet with the Hon. Premier Donaldson Romeo; the Hon. Financial Secretary Colin Owen; Members of Cabinet; Members of the Opposition and representatives of financial institutions on Wednesday, October 31.
The visit by Bitt Inc., is being organised by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management.
The MOU between the Government of Montserrat and Bitt Inc. will be for an initial period of three years. Bitt Inc. is a financial technology company that utilises distributed ledger technology to offer secure, efficient, and cost effective digital payment products and services, including digital asset issuance software. Bitt Inc.’s suite of software can efficiently and securely issue an immutable DXCD, which, with the blessing of the ECCB, equates to the XCD – the existing legal tender of the ECCU.
