• Warns they will ‘discredit’ vital technology
• And will drag Bahamas first ‘through mud’
• Chair: ‘Highly irresponsible’ for jurisdiction
By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A Bahamian digital payments provider yesterday argued that “reckless” attacks on it were threatening to undermine efforts to make The Bahamas a world leader in Central Bank-backed digital currencies.
Nicholas Rees, chairman and co-founder of Kanoo, told Tribune Business that the relentless onslaught suffered by the company over the past two weeks could dent consumer and business confidence in adopting the Sand Dollar for payments transactions.
Given that Kanoo has been awarded the contract to provide the “multi-signature Sand Dollar wallet” to all government departments and agencies, so that they can accept payments in digital currency from the Bahamian public, Mr Rees said efforts “to discredit our technology” could deter persons from using this mechanism.
“It’s highly reckless to be attacking any payment service provider in this environment given what we’re doing with the Sand Dollar,” he argued to this newspaper. “From a jurisdictional standpoint, it’s highly irresponsible to be making these allegations (see other article HERE).
“It’s designed to discredit our technology because of the success we’re having in the marketplace. Our technology has been validated by the Central Bank. We were the first to become inter-operable [with the Sand Dollar] and integrated into third party mobile applications. This is a world first that has never been done before.
“As a provider we don’t want to be caught up in this political back and forth. We feel it’s damaging to the country. We’re delivering a major financial product that’s important in a global context. We cannot be irresponsible in dragging the Sand Dollar, the Central Bank and payment services providers through the mud in political silly season.”
Kanoo, in a separate statement, said it had been selected by the Ministry of Finance to provide the multi-signature Sand Dollar wallets that will be integrated into the government’s own DigiPay platform, to which other digital payments service providers are already providing card and collection services on the government’s behalf.
Asserting that it won the contract “after a fair and transparent Request for Proposal (RFP) procurement process”, where it had to compete against all other authorised Sand Dollar providers such as Sun Cash, Omni and Island Pay, Kanoo said: “Interoperability of the system was a core mandate of the Central Bank.
“Kanoo’s early adoption of this technical capability has helped Kanoo stand out from our competitors. The need for interoperability is such that it will enable customers of all providers and financial institutions to transact with the government using the Sand Dollar. The fact that Kanoo has achieved this major historic milestone ensures that every financial player will be enabled to participate in the ecosystem.”
Kanoo added that it has become “the world’s first third party mobile application to integrate a Central Bank Digital Currency into its digital mobile ecosystem and offer the ability to transact online in an e-commerce environment”.
“Kanoo is the world’s first third-party mobile application to develop ‘interoperability’, which means that we enable Sand Dollar transactions to flow seamlessly between Kanoo’s ecosystem and users and those systems and wallets of any other financial institution or reference application,” it added.
Accusing Kanoo’s critics of “muddying the waters in making the issue more complex than it needs to be”, Mr Rees told Tribune Business: “The issue is bigger than Kanoo, bigger than any political party. The Sand Dollar is a major national initiative we must embrace and coalesce around.
“I’m extremely concerned. We’ve invested a tremendous amount of time, money and resources into delivery of this technology in support of the Central Bank, and the Sand Dollar project. All of these political attacks are damaging to the jurisdiction and the Sand Dollar.
“We’ve led the way on inter-operability. That’s a core mandate of the Central Bank on being selected as a provider of the sovereign multi-signature wallets. We ensure complete interaction with every customer and merchant regardless of what payment service provider they are using. We have complete interaction with all market players.”
Mr Rees said the Sand Dollar’s purpose was to ensure financial and payments services remain accessible to Bahamians across the archipelago, especially in the Family Islands, where commercial banks are unable to sustain the costs of managing a physical presence and have pulled out to leave some locations without access to banks.
Comments
TalRussell 2 years, 10 months ago
Who you gonna call when the first PR attempts failed at correcting a series of misconnections...Why you send an urgent SOS shoutout to the Guardian's talkie Show Host aka the Herb's Comrade Sister PR's. must run to, to book guest appearance spot on Comrade Juan's, fast turning into the realm's most popular live-on-air, info commercial show. So much popular, even ALIV's Comrade is a regular guest. I swear, I'm not just making this up, yes?
carltonr61 2 years, 10 months ago
Yea. Was listening. This deep. Most never knew it was Kanoo. There was a suspicion from the dictator in early 2020 after he mentioned new and emerging technology that Covid was going to get monitized. We were called out as stupid conspiracy theorists. Covid has become monitized people in the know are profiteering at our expense.
WETHEPEOPLE 2 years, 10 months ago
True story
M0J0 2 years, 10 months ago
SMT
WETHEPEOPLE 2 years, 10 months ago
In other words, Bahamians just shut up and let this man make his money.
tribanon 2 years, 10 months ago
There's a difference between "make" (as in 'earn') and 'tief' by way of political corruption. The latter certainly seems to apply to Kanoo and its principals.
carltonr61 2 years, 10 months ago
Jobs for life. 400,000 Bahamians jealous. We don't get fed from the same spoon, some spoons are silver, wood, golden boys, concrete.
ThisIsOurs 2 years, 10 months ago
Both Dand Dollar and kanoo had a very bad model, their profits are all based on establishing a monopoly and forcing people to use the technology. Its counterpoint to how mobile technology thrives. Basically the only place their app could have survived is in the Bahamas where the givt has set up n uneven playing field for them. How do I know that? They said so. When the govt said it had developed its own internal payment solution they cried about all the wirk theyd put in. If theyd had a base outside govt, people who "wanted" to use the app, it would have been a blow but not a killer.
carltonr61 2 years, 10 months ago
The G7 Europeans are trying to force digital control using this vehicle on all aspects of thought, internet usage, spending all in the name of control. How much does this private group of our accounts and business dealings. Cashless will see billions of USA dollars forced out of circulation with each dollar you spend as digit l currency having a tracing signature to you.
birdiestrachan 2 years, 10 months ago
The concern is the travel visa. why is it necessary? Now they can twist and turn in the wind. most Bahamians are not concerned with the sand dollar. they would like to survive from day today.
It would be really nice if they will stop playing the victim. when poor Bahamians are the ones who are been taken to the cleaners? those who would like to go from one island to another. now need a travel visa.
carltonr61 2 years, 10 months ago
Health visa money is their startup spine and backbone. Government has already enslaved its money machineries to them till the end of time. Crazy that government volunteers to share our purse with their sweethearts lovers and friends.
carltonr61 2 years, 10 months ago
Most persons realize that they were deceived by the Central Bank into believing the Sand Dollar was a gov initiative and vehicle to send money to the treasury public purse, but to see it was created to seemingly syphon our money away by nice slogans of streamline, ease of business. As broke as our treasury is in the red by 10 billion dollars we cannot afford to be robbed one red cent. Seems like thievery to me.
ThisIsOurs 2 years, 10 months ago
the problem with Sand Dollar is that they sought to create a monopoly by placing a moratorium on digital payment providers. Island Pay like Kanoo has been given an all access pass to the exclusion of everyone else. There was absolutely no sound rationale for the digital payment provider moratorium other than protecting the company they partnered with and All For Me. If the market became over saturated, the market should determine which technology survives and which fizzles, not the central bank governor or hubert Minnis
It would be interesting to find out who the govt has selected for its national digital market place. Who will they create the next uneven playing field for? considering the market already has a number of digital market place solutions. Is the govt, late to the game, now in business of squashing innovation? Its clear they dont have a clue how innovation thrives. They are only all about pushing their dark horse.
carltonr61 2 years, 10 months ago
Does patriotic Bahamians have a place where we can ensure 100% of our tax payment and services go directly to our bleeding treasury? This is just nonsense for government to deny collecting our own money to make persons rich not our treasuery thus us treasonous to be forced to rob ourselves at government collection houses, must be processed by private oh we are fools fools stupid dead slaves for the elite.
Proguing 2 years, 10 months ago
Between paying cash or with Sand Dollar, I choose cash....
KapunkleUp 2 years, 10 months ago
Damn right. Every other day you read stories about crypto wallets being hacked and emptied. Not to mention about your accounts being cleaned out by hackers. I sleep better knowing my wallet is under my pillow and my baseball bat is next to my bed.
John 2 years, 10 months ago
So Bahamian businesses ( or any business ) doing business with the government must now sing on to Kano in order to get paid. Some of these businesses will only have government as a Kano customer so the fees may force them to give up business with the government. Not knocking any advance in technology but to force additional expenses on smaller businesses to advance a single provider is not a good thing. In fact it may be taking bread out of these business owner’s mouths.
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