The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

PLP chairman Fred Mitchell has urged the Central Bank to examine cheque clearing delays, saying customers are enduring unacceptable banking service.

In a voice note circulated Wednesday, the Fox Hill MP said after discussing the case of a man waiting nine days for a cheque to clear earlier this week, he had since heard other “horror stories” about the sector, which he described as “poor”.

He argued cheques should clear within 24 hours and suggested the delays reflect inadequate technological investment, contrasting The Bahamas with faster systems abroad.

“Today, in America, for example, you can take a picture of a check and the amount is in your account simultaneously,” Mr Mitchell said. “Across Africa, you can use SMS texting to pay for any transaction, just like cash.”

He accused banks of pushing customers away from cash while increasing costs and reducing face-to-face services, and warned modernisation rhetoric was meaningless without infrastructure upgrades.

“My point is that we must get with it, and in getting with it, all this talk of the digital age and AI will mean nothing unless there is an upgrade in our infrastructure,” Mr Mitchell said.

Toward the end of the recording, he also criticised telecommunications services, blaming what he called the Free National Movement’s decision to sell the Bahamas Telecommunications Company and arguing his party would need another term to address lingering problems.

Mr Mitchell has repeatedly criticised the banking sector, previously highlighting delays in opening accounts, rising fees and what he considers a premature shift away from cash toward digital transactions. He has also suggested legislation may be needed to tighten regulation of commercial banks.

Concerns about banking access have also come from the opposition.

In May 2025, Free National Movement leader Michael Pintard warned in Parliament about the withdrawal of banking services from several Family Islands and said the government should take stronger action to regulate the sector. He referenced his party’s 2024 reform proposals, including restoring services to underserved islands and increasing Bahamian ownership in banking.