I got a Prepaid Visa credit card from Bank of The Bahamas International (BOB) in August 2007. Of course, at the time I did not expect to be able to use it on the island of (South) Andros or anywhere else in The Bahamas for that matter because most Bahamian businesses, at that time, did not have internet websites that offer online purchasing services; thus, any intent on using the credit card required that one walked into the actual place of business to exact transactions.
Of course, I could not (and still cannot) use the card at any Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in South Andros because even though BOB has been here for over fifteen (15) years there are still no ATMs here. The card did, however, come in handy for making online purchases from other countries and I found it exceptionally convenient for foreign travels. I used the card to purchase tickets and make hotel reservations, rent cars, get food and purchase all sorts of other stuff including cds, printing supplies and clothing. I was in love with my Prepaid Visa Credit Card.
Fast forward two years later and I am not as excited with my credit card anymore but the problem with that is that it is not the card or BOB’s fault. I am frustrated because I still cannot use the card online to do business with the majority of Bahamian companies. Sure, I can purchase tickets from Bahamasair but South Andros is not one of Bahamasair’s destinations. I can make hotel reservations online but only to the fancy and more expensive properties on the Cable Beach strip and Paradise Island.
Until recently, I could pay my phone bill and purchase phone cards online but the Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited (BTC) had to shut the system down because crooks and shysters compromised the process; so that little convenience was stripped away and there’s no telling when it is going to be reinstated. Today, the BOB Visa Prepaid Credit Card that should help to make my life easier on the family island is a worthless piece of plastic where I need it to be most worthwhile.
Is it asking too much if I want to be able to go online to pay my utility bills (telephone, electricity and water)? In this day and age family islanders who shop wholesale in New Providence should be able to go online to websites from the different major foodstores and wholesale outlets to purchase grocery, cleaning and other supplies and have them shipped to the mail boat of their choice. The same goes for other businesses that sell computers, furniture, building supplies and other essentials.
I should be able to go online to a Commonwealth Bank website and use my credit card to pay on my loan account that I have with them or to a Family Guardian website to pay my insurance premiums. It would be convenient if I could purchase my airline tickets on Western Air or Performance Air through the internet rather than having to go to the airport.
Should establishments decide to put such mechanisms in place this would provide new jobs and profits for persons and businesses that provide internet technology (IT) services. Sales and marketing companies would make money because information about the availability of such services and how can they be utilized must be advertised. Businesses that employ such mechanism will benefit from their investments particularly once the general public of credit card holders in the family islands get the hang of it.
Banks will see an increase in credit card applicants particularly those persons interested in enjoying the convenience of having prepaid credit cards and, of course, they will also not have to worry about default on credit card payments because cardholders will only be able to spend what monies they put on the card. This would also give cardholders a new sense of control in their spending habits. Of course, this will require that BTC and any other company responsible for internet infrastructure improve their services and expand to those areas where such services are lacking.
It is high time that the Government, business establishments and banks work together to help improve our financial systems while simultaneously engineering ways to guarantee that family islanders reap the benefits of taking advantage of modern conveniences such as prepaid credit cards. Employing mechanisms to ensure the continuous tenable growth and development of interisland commerce will help in our mission to encourage Bahamians to spend at home and move our country closer to financial sustainability particularly in difficult economic times such as what the world is now experiencing.
I might not live in New Providence or Grand Bahama but that is no excuse for me being disadvantaged. I want to live easy and I would like to be able to use my BOB credit card at home in South Andros from behind a computer screen to pay the bills, get the things that I need and have my grocery shipped on the Captain Moxey. Besides, what is the point of having a credit card if it is not convenient to me on the island where I live? And, then again, in The Bahamas in the 21st Century, is that too much to ask?
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Of course, I could not (and still cannot) use the card at any Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in South Andros because even though BOB has been here for over fifteen (15) years there are still no ATMs here. The card did, however, come in handy for making online purchases from other countries and I found it exceptionally convenient for foreign travels. I used the card to purchase tickets and make hotel reservations, rent cars, get food and purchase all sorts of other stuff including cds, printing supplies and clothing. I was in love with my Prepaid Visa Credit Card.
Fast forward two years later and I am not as excited with my credit card anymore but the problem with that is that it is not the card or BOB’s fault. I am frustrated because I still cannot use the card online to do business with the majority of Bahamian companies. Sure, I can purchase tickets from Bahamasair but South Andros is not one of Bahamasair’s destinations. I can make hotel reservations online but only to the fancy and more expensive properties on the Cable Beach strip and Paradise Island.
Until recently, I could pay my phone bill and purchase phone cards online but the Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited (BTC) had to shut the system down because crooks and shysters compromised the process; so that little convenience was stripped away and there’s no telling when it is going to be reinstated. Today, the BOB Visa Prepaid Credit Card that should help to make my life easier on the family island is a worthless piece of plastic where I need it to be most worthwhile.
Is it asking too much if I want to be able to go online to pay my utility bills (telephone, electricity and water)? In this day and age family islanders who shop wholesale in New Providence should be able to go online to websites from the different major foodstores and wholesale outlets to purchase grocery, cleaning and other supplies and have them shipped to the mail boat of their choice. The same goes for other businesses that sell computers, furniture, building supplies and other essentials.
I should be able to go online to a Commonwealth Bank website and use my credit card to pay on my loan account that I have with them or to a Family Guardian website to pay my insurance premiums. It would be convenient if I could purchase my airline tickets on Western Air or Performance Air through the internet rather than having to go to the airport.
Should establishments decide to put such mechanisms in place this would provide new jobs and profits for persons and businesses that provide internet technology (IT) services. Sales and marketing companies would make money because information about the availability of such services and how can they be utilized must be advertised. Businesses that employ such mechanism will benefit from their investments particularly once the general public of credit card holders in the family islands get the hang of it.
Banks will see an increase in credit card applicants particularly those persons interested in enjoying the convenience of having prepaid credit cards and, of course, they will also not have to worry about default on credit card payments because cardholders will only be able to spend what monies they put on the card. This would also give cardholders a new sense of control in their spending habits. Of course, this will require that BTC and any other company responsible for internet infrastructure improve their services and expand to those areas where such services are lacking.
It is high time that the Government, business establishments and banks work together to help improve our financial systems while simultaneously engineering ways to guarantee that family islanders reap the benefits of taking advantage of modern conveniences such as prepaid credit cards. Employing mechanisms to ensure the continuous tenable growth and development of interisland commerce will help in our mission to encourage Bahamians to spend at home and move our country closer to financial sustainability particularly in difficult economic times such as what the world is now experiencing.
I might not live in New Providence or Grand Bahama but that is no excuse for me being disadvantaged. I want to live easy and I would like to be able to use my BOB credit card at home in South Andros from behind a computer screen to pay the bills, get the things that I need and have my grocery shipped on the Captain Moxey. Besides, what is the point of having a credit card if it is not convenient to me on the island where I live? And, then again, in The Bahamas in the 21st Century, is that too much to ask?
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Comments
Amen! We've been preaching this sermon for nearly ten years on BahamasB2B.com. Why indeed can Bahamians not have the same services from their banks, that banks in other countries offer their customers? Bahamian banks should be ashamed of themselves.