–Finance Minister says initiative supports digital economy and financial-literacy agenda
THE direct deposit of the $100,000 cash grant into beneficiaries’ bank accounts forms part of the Government of Guyana’s broader push to promote a more digital and financially inclusive economy.
This is according to Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, who during an interview aired on the Department of Public Information (DPI) on Friday signalled the government’s preference to deliver the cash support through digital channels, using existing payment systems rather than relying on physical cheques and in-person distribution, as was done previously.
Some 50,000 central government employees who receive their monthly salaries via bank deposits will be the first to receive their cash grants next week.
“So, this time around, we’re going to be prioritising payments through bank accounts, because we want to make it as seamless and as smooth and as efficient and as easy as possible,” the Finance Minister said.
Dr Singh explained that the cash-grant initiative, first announced by President, Dr Irfaan Ali, has been fully funded in Budget 2026, which provides an allocation of approximately $62 billion.
He stressed that the initiative is not only a social-support measure, but also a key instrument in advancing President Ali’s broader agenda of financial literacy, financial inclusion and digital inclusion.
“By that we mean more Guyanese people participating in the formal financial sector; more Guyanese people having bank accounts; more Guyanese people having formal relationships with the banking system and more Guyanese people being able to access loans through the formal financial system,” he explained.
To this end, the administration has worked with the Central Bank and commercial banks to simplify the requirements for opening bank accounts. Several institutions have since launched online portals through which citizens can open accounts virtually by submitting basic information and documents.
President Ali has, since last year, been publicly urging citizens to open bank accounts as part of this push.
The Finance Minister also reminded citizens that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s 2025 manifesto carried dedicated chapters on these priorities, which have been repeatedly highlighted in the President’s speeches, including his inaugural address and his five-year vision.
Beyond public servants, the wider adult population will be brought into the programme through a new online self-registration portal, which will be launched next week.
The platform, accessible by mobile phone, will allow eligible citizens to register and submit their bank-account details online. The government will then conduct simplified verification checks before paying the cash grant directly into beneficiaries’ accounts.
According to Dr Singh, this approach is designed to minimise the need for long lines, repeated visits to government offices and the handling of physical cheques.
Reflecting on the previous cash-grant distribution, he acknowledged that while it was “very efficiently executed” and reached the vast majority of beneficiaries, it involved substantial administrative and logistical costs—from printing and managing cheques to operating temporary distribution centres and deploying staff and security.
There was also, he added, a significant cost in terms of citizens’ time spent travelling and waiting in line.
“So, in this regard, you might ask why this is relevant to the cash grant. The expressed objective and preference of the government is to execute the payout of this cash grant in the most efficient possible way and using the digital platforms that are already available,” he said.
“We don’t want you to have to join a line anywhere. We don’t want you to have to go somewhere to register and then go somewhere else to line up to collect your cheque and then go somewhere else to deposit your cheque.”
The government’s overarching aim, he noted, is to reduce the time and money citizens spend accessing basic services.
“We want, as far as we possibly can, to eliminate the necessity for people to have to join long queues and waste hours… We haven’t fully won that battle as yet. This is still very much a work in progress, but this is precisely what we want to achieve, and we’re doing it in multiple different ways.”
Only recently, the government launched service centres to decentralise public services that were once only available in Georgetown.
Minister of the Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation, Zulfikar Ally, earlier this week told the Guyana Chronicle that the government has achieved its initial goal of decentralising services offered by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), the passport office, the General Register Office (GRO) and identification card services.
This is being done through the Government of Guyana (GoG) Service Centres located at the West Central Mall in Region Three and in Fort Wellington, Region Five.
Similar centres are expected to soon become operational in Regions Two and Six, with the aim of establishing centres countrywide.
Already, a record number of persons have been visiting the existing centres to apply for passports, birth and death certificates, marriage licences and other important documents. Applications for electronic identification cards (E-IDs) are also being processed.
