NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Central Bank of The Bahamas has selected Montran Corporation to design and implement a national Fast Payment System (FPS), concluding a competitive procurement process to modernize the country’s payments and settlements infrastructure.
The central bank said the initiative will “continue to modernize the domestic payments landscape” and strengthen core financial infrastructure, with the system expected to launch by the first quarter of 2027.
The regulator noted that Montran is a privately owned software development company founded in 1979 and headquartered in New York, is a well-regarded global payment system technology provider. Its real-time gross settlement (RTGS) solution has been implemented in more than 40 countries, and it has established a footprint in the fast payments space through deployments in 11 countries, including in the Caribbean.
The award follows an October 2025 Request for Proposal that attracted 16 submissions from domestic and international vendors. Proposals were vetted through a “competitive and stringent evaluation exercise,” in line with the Central Bank’s procurement policy, before Montran was selected to build the solution.
The Fast Payment System forms part of the Central Bank’s broader Payment Systems Modernization Initiative, targeting improved outcomes that increase payments efficiency and keep pace with evolving global standards and trends. The platform will enable real-time, continuous domestic payments settlement at all hours of the day, week and year, while providing interoperability with existing systems, including the Bahamas Inter-bank Settlement System (BISS), the Automated Clearing House (ACH) and the SandDollar central bank digital currency.
All commercial banks, credit unions and licensed payment service providers will operate on the platform, with the government and the National Insurance Board participating directly. Like BISS and the Bahamas Government Securities Depository, the Central Bank will own and operate the system, with a public education and awareness campaign planned to support implementation for businesses and consumers.
