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Market Operations & Payments
Frequently Asked Questions
The Central Bank is responsible for the basic payment infrastructure of the countries (Curaçao and Sint Maarten) within the monetary union. Curaçao and Sint Maarten are among the first countries in the Caribbean region to facilitate so-called "Instant Payment" transactions, enabling payment orders to be processed between local banks within seconds. On this network, other local payment solutions can also be offered by banks and other payment service providers (PSPs). This is now being done by various companies. These new payment options are therefore also facilitated by the Central Bank.
In order to offer international payment solutions, such as PayPal, within our monetary union, various conditions must be met, some of which fall only partly within the range of influence of the CBCS. Currently, the CBCS has specific legislation for PSPs in the legislative process, which could make market entry more attractive for companies like PayPal. The CBCS expects this legislation to be adopted soon. This puts Curaçao and Sint Maarten ahead of many other countries in the region. Another factor that plays a role is the willingness of these companies, such as PayPal itself, which depends on factors like scale (expected transaction volumes) and market entry costs. There are currently no legal or technical impediments preventing these companies from offering their services.
No, however, these international payment service providers prefer the existence of clear regulations for payment service providers when operating in a particular jurisdiction.
3. What concrete steps have been taken to enable collaboration with international payment providers?
The CBCS expects the legislation for PSPs to be enacted soon. After introduction of this legislation, the CBCS will once again and more actively approach these payment service providers to assess their interest in entering the market.
With the introduction of VISA and Mastercard debit cards, anyone with a debit card in Curaçao and Sint Maarten can make e-commerce (international) payments, as these cards can be used similarly to credit cards.
The local demand for services like PayPal for instance is mainly related to the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in receiving payments. Currently, entrepreneurs pay relatively high fees to receive payments for goods and services sold online. A portion of these costs is due to chargeback fees imposed by credit card companies when a customer is refunded, for example due to a defective product or service. These costs may be lower on payment platforms such as PayPal or Apple Pay, as they do not offer these additional consumer protection services associated with card chargebacks.
The CBCS is aware that having more and cheaper options to receive international payments in particular, can have a positive effect on the economy. Therefore, the CBCS is working in various ways within its sphere of influence to encourage the entry of international PSPs into the local market.
CBCS has plans to facilitate international payments on the instant payment network as well. However, this requires the cooperation of international banks and also investments by local banks.
Last updated: 24.04.2025 09:04