NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Andros businesses continue to face challenges due to a lack of functioning automated banking machines (ABMs), with the President of the North Andros Chamber of Commerce noting that businesses have been compelled to travel to New Providence weekly for their banking needs.
His comments came after Scotiabank, in a statement on Tuesday, condemned the recent incident of vandalism that affected the operation of its Automated Banking Machine (ABM) located in Nicholl’s Town, Andros.
“As a result, the machine has been left inoperable and will be unavailable for use by members of the public for an extended period. We are presently assessing the extensive damage done with all relevant stakeholders to determine the timeframe for service restoration. We are also cooperating with the authorities on an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice,” the bank said in a statement.
Darin Bethel, the North Andros Chamber of Commerce president, told Eyewitness News, “The machine has not been consistently working for almost two years. It had been down for about three weeks before this past weekend when it was vandalized. Most likely, someone frustrated by not having access to money did it. This has been a challenge for business owners, most of whom go into Nassau weekly for their business or let an agent take care of their affairs. We are resilient people and have been adjusting over the past year to operating without consistent Banking availability by use of the ATM.”
Bethel said that the Chamber is hosting a conclave next month to get more business on board with the use of digital currency.
