‘Provide Basic Banking Services To All Residents’
“We will legislate the requirement for licensed banks to have a duty to provide basic banking services to all residents,” Premier David Burt said today.
This had been mentioned in the 2023 Throne Speech, which said, “In today’s digital age, the use of a bank account is a basic necessity for Bermudians. During this session, and similar to changes made in many other jurisdictions, the Government will further advance banking reform by legislating the requirement that licensed banks have a duty to provide access to basic banking services to all residents. Additionally, the Legislature will take under consideration the regulations necessary to regulate excessive fees charged for banking services.”
Premier David Burt expanded on this during today’s press conference, saying; “This Government will make it clear that financial inclusivity is paramount and that Bermudians deserve to have access to basic banking services, and no Bermudian should be victim to the experience of being ‘unbanked.’
“Imagine being a Bermudian unable to have a bank account or a credit or debit card. How would you travel, book a flight, a car, a hotel? What about access to basic online services that we use here in Bermuda that require a credit card or debit card? These things aren’t optional in 2023; they are necessities for a normal life, and to address this issue, we will legislate the requirement for licensed banks to have a duty to provide basic banking services to all residents, which is similar to provisions that have been made in many jurisdictions around the world.
“In addition, during this session, the Government will introduce further regulations on excessive banking fees for banking services. These regulations will provide additional protections for Bermudians alongside the regulations on over-the-limit fees, which were passed into legislation last year and will come into effect before the end of this year.
“Fairer banking and more robust regulation on fees will support our continued economic growth and open more opportunities for Bermudian workers, families and businesses by ensuring their hard-earned money is not lost to disproportionate fees.”
as soon as i am done with my mortgage I planed to run from these banks and their fees that are just draining me. do something about pre paid cell tax too because I put $10 on my phone and use it once and next time I look to use it there is no money left on it. this is robbery because you a need a static phone contact for everything so you need one and when it is not being used it is just a money pit to simply keep the same number in your name
“We will legislate the requirement for licensed banks to have a duty to provide basic banking services to all residents,”
Will that requirement apply even if the resident is unable or unwilling to provide the documentation required by the anti money-laundering legislation?
Very impressed by your very thoughtful comment. Kudos!
I would also ask if banks are going to drop all fees such as falling below a minimum balance, account inactivity, intra-bank money transfers, ATM fees, etc. As those bread-and-butter fees go away or are reduced, how will banks make up for the loss of income? Layoffs? Reduction in services? New fees?
How about the Government reduce its fees & charges for services, fines, and taxes?
financial “inclusivity” – there is, a politically correct buzzword. If one has no money, little money, or chooses to be off the grid, how does the Government plan to legislate banking participation? How about a guaranteed monthly income, free housing, free groceries, free smartphones with free Internet included to allow access to banking, purchasing goods & services, and traveling?
Whatchu think Joe?
What if the individual fails to comply with finance laws, eh Burt? What if the individual can’t give a satisfactory story about where their money came from? What if handling the account puts the bank in danger of breaching money laundering laws? What if handling the account breaches international sanctions?
With such limited banking opportunities here, where can you go if you should breach such laws? Surely if one bank applies the laws it must apply to all local banks, or does the BMA turn a blind eye depending on the bank and client?
Yes, and if you were in breach of any such laws to the extent that it might be hard to legally get a bank account, it would be really handy if you were in a position to change the law to force banks to give you an account, wouldn’t it.
Like if you were Premier, or something like that.
The BMA has been known to turn a blind eye.
Not all states or banks in the U.S. require a local address. Some states (including Delaware, last I checked) do not even require identification to open a bank account.
So, ” where can you go if you should breach such laws?” The United States. The very country that led the charge to impose those laws on us.
This will just play into the hands of the bank as you would be legislated to do this. Not to mention they will track your money habits. That is what they want just bring your attention to the IRS over hall in the US which if people think rich people who can afford lawyers and accounting firms will still find loopholes to exploit but the middle class and poor will be easy targets. Just another example of how the Governments of the world are holding their own citizens down.
LOL operation mockingbird was a success it just need media companies to keep you scrolling their propaganda.
“Not to mention they will track your money habits”
You mean like PayPal and Google Pay and other such apps?
some of these comments are clearly from people that have no idea about the problem that gov while some of their concerns are valid the messages reeks of a kinda of unawareness. i feel it is because to be aware of things in this society you have to be someone that can sense other suffering to where it make you feel that you are suffering as well however the most people are not aware of things that are problems unless they are in it or near to it.
i can see how people go homeless in here because the way how things are setup one little slip-up or misfortune in life and unless you got someone to fall back on you are pretty much in the hole and it is hard to come back up because you need money to climb in order to work to make money and you cant even say let me cut back on things like a phone because you need that for an interview job communication. all the jobs pay direct deposit but you need money in there already to to the back can take it from you slowly and hopefully you get a job before they take it all cause then you ain’t got no account any more. most are lucky there is a little gov wifi around some places so that they can maintain they network with their contacts and keep themself some what informed and skilled with the many things you can learn from and gain access to on the internet such a blessing i remember back in the day when internet was just coming out and i was young and was interested in learning computer science and there was not a single book on the island having to do with that stuff times have come along way but the struggle is always here with it in this society and that is why there must be solutions resolve the struggle those that under that heavy boot because we don’t want more people and families to give up and clock out or crack under this pressure because many already have
The Bermuda Credit Union Co-op. Society still exists and it was created to address the very segment of society you have identified, those who for various reasons are shunned by the big banks.
what I am talking about is not really being shunned by the banks per say but more to the tune of not having a steady flow of income to maintain the account balance so that the account can remain open. me like I am sure many others have had an account created for my self when I was a child. the fees are not to back if you have big income however if you are paycheck to paycheck trying to save something using every nickel and dime you can find the fees are killer.
there also needs to be something done about having to wait 3 months to apply money to your mortgage 1 month should be more than enough for the bank notice because cause trying to reduce your mortgage payments to make them more manageable it hard to do when you have to have the money in the bank for 3 months not doing anything when you could have saved 3 months of UN-ajusted mortgage payments worth of money example when I trying to apply my early 6k private pension payment to my mortgage to try make thing work but this never got to happen and the money ended up getting used for bills little by little
Classic example of Burt way in over his head. No wonder Curtis resigned. Burt is dangerous as he believes he is smart but is financially incompetent. Once Government tries to dictate what the banks should do, will result at best with no change but at worse redundancies and closure.
This from a person who is in charge of a Government that has created a debt of between $4 billion and $7 billion with a population of around 60,000, and an Island in decay. Must be a world record for incompetence.
The current account debt is around $4 billions. The unfunded pension liability is more than that and a separate debt.
Although in fairness to the PLP Government they only created the $4 billion current account debt. They inherited an unfunded pension debt of around $1 billion in 1998.
“They inherited an unfunded pension debt of around $1 billion in 1998.”
…and, what have they don’t to fix that in the past quarter of a century?
Increase it by $2 billion?