ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC—The Government says it will continue to engage the Trinidad-based WiPay Caribbean to provide cashless electronic transactions to schoolbooks and uniform program recipients. However, the regulatory body for financial services has revoked the company’s license to operate in Grenada.
A notice dated July 3, 2024, on the Grenada Authority for the Regulation of Financial Institutions (GARFIN) website said that WiPay’s license had been revoked, making it eligible to operate in Grenada.
“By the provisions of Section 33 (1) (a) of the Money Services Business Act Cap 198A, the Grenada Authority for the Regulation of Financial Institutions (GARFIN), as the Authority responsible for Money Services Business, revokes the license of WiPay Grenada Ltd with immediate effect. The general public, including persons interested in doing business with this entity, are asked to note the contents of this Notice and be guided accordingly,” the Notice said.
But Education Minister David Andrews told a news conference that the Dickon Mitchell government, through the Ministry of Education, will Partner with WiPay Caribbean for the Digital Student Grant Assistance Programme, and the company’s agents are set to receive training in the upcoming days.
Andrews said that the ministry would issue system-generated QR codes to grant beneficiaries, which would be redeemable at participating merchants for school supplies and uniforms, eliminating the cost associated with printing cheques.
Asked about the recent revocation of the WiPay license to operate in Grenada, Andrews told reporters that the company does not need to be certified by GARFIN to operate in Grenada.
“As it relates to WiPay, we engaged GARFIN and WiPay as well. What we did discover is that WiPay just provides a platform for cashless transactions; it does not need to be certified by GARFIN.
“We learned that, and so there was no need for them to be recertified; that is what the officials from GARFIN told us,” he told reporters.
Andrews further explained that WiPay is certified by the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange (ECSE).
“So, we felt comfortable being guided by GARFIN that they were still in a perfect position to continue offering the services because they didn’t do direct cash transactions, and so the GARFIN regulations did not need to have them certified, and they did not have to renew that document,” he said.
Launched in October 2001 and operating out of St Kitts, the ECSE is the regional securities market established by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) and licensed under the Securities Act of 2001 – a uniform regional body of legislation governing securities market activities.
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