PRESIDENT Irfaan Ali’s recent meeting with financial sector stakeholders is a necessary intervention in a banking system that has grown comfortably complacent while the rest of Guyana transforms at breakneck speed.

In six weeks, key stakeholders within the industry will present a report that will capture the needs of the banking sector, and what is required to integrate the system into the digital economy.

The comprehensive digital transformation report isn’t just ambitious timing; it’s a long-overdue wake-up call for an industry that has been sleepwalking through the oil boom while citizens endure archaic banking practices.

The irony is stark. While Guyana rockets towards becoming a regional economic powerhouse, its citizens still queue in endless bank lines, trapped in a predominantly cash-based economy.

This digital disconnect isn’t merely inconvenient, it’s economically damaging and socially regressive. When major businesses still lack electronic payment infrastructure, and petrol stations can’t process card transactions, we’re witnessing institutional failure on a massive scale.

Finance Minister Ashni Singh’s critique of banking sector conservatism cuts to the heart of the problem. Yes, prudent lending protects depositors, but excessive risk aversion strangles entrepreneurial growth.

The government has laid the groundwork with progressive legislation like the Security Interests in Movable Property Act 2024, which allows SMEs to use equipment, inventory, and receivables as collateral instead of being locked out by land ownership requirements.

Yet banks remain hesitant to embrace these tools, preferring the comfort zone of traditional real estate-backed lending.

The transformation happening at Demerara Bank, which aims to become Guyana’s first fully digital bank with AI-driven processes that reduce loan processing from two weeks to minutes, proves change is possible.

This innovation gap between progressive institutions and laggards creates an uneven playing field that disadvantages consumers and businesses alike.

With government promises of e-payment platforms by year-end, and comprehensive financial system overhauls, banks that fail to adapt risk being left behind by the digital transformation train.

The six-week timeline isn’t unrealistic, it’s appropriately urgent for an economy that can’t afford to wait for institutional inertia to resolve itself. This isn’t about rushing into reckless digitization.

It’s about matching banking progress to economic reality in a country where oil revenues have grown credit to the private sector by 73.4 per cent in four years. Guyana’s financial future depends on institutions that serve growth, not hinder it.