– Finance Minister announces third-phase rollout for persons opting for cheque payments
– Government launches new registration process for unbanked citizens

THE national cash grant initiative has so far processed payments totalling $47 billion to 470,420 eligible Guyanese according to Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh.
Dr Singh who made the disclosure in a video posted to his social media pages stated that the initiative, which was announced by President Irfaan Ali late last year and funded through Budget 2026, has progressed smoothly since its implementation, with hundreds of thousands of citizens receiving their payments directly into their bank accounts.
The first phase of the rollout focused on direct deposits for public servants, central government employees and persons who self-registered through the official cash grant portal and provided their banking information.
According to the finance minister, this phase allowed eligible citizens to receive their grants without having to leave their homes.
“The first phase was rolled out extremely smoothly and efficiently and saw hundreds of thousands of Guyanese eligible for this cash grant receiving the cash grant paid directly into their bank accounts without them having to leave the comfort of their home,” Dr Singh said.
The government then moved into a second phase, deploying teams across the country to reach persons in remote and hard-to-access communities, as well as individuals who were homebound or unable to travel.
He went on to explain that the teams targeted geographically challenging areas, while also providing assistance to shut-ins identified through registers maintained by agencies such as the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.
With the completion of these initial phases, the minister announced that the government is now commencing the third phase of the initiative, which will cater specifically to persons who do not have bank accounts or who prefer to receive their payments through cheques.
Against this backdrop, persons who have not yet registered for the cash grant can access the portal at cashgrant.gov.gy and select cheque payment as their preferred method of receiving the funds.
Applicants will be required to provide their identification details, scan their ID cards, and complete the portal’s verification process, including a “liveness check” to confirm that they are real persons.
Once applications are submitted, government officials will conduct eligibility verification before processing the records and preparing cheques for distribution.
Dr Singh explained that recipients will be notified when their cheques are ready for collection through two methods.
Applicants will be able to log into the portal to track the status of their applications, including whether their request is being processed or whether their cheque is available for collection at a designated location.
As such, the government will use the contact information provided during registration to notify recipients by telephone when and where their cheques can be collected.
While the cheque option is being introduced to accommodate persons without bank accounts, Dr Singh stressed that the government will continue encouraging citizens to become part of the formal banking system.
He said financial inclusion remains a key priority of President Ali’s administration and noted that having a bank account would allow citizens to access a wider range of financial services and future government programmes.
“Even if you have chosen in this instance to receive your cash grant by way of a cheque, I want to emphasise to you that President Ali and his government would still like you to access the formal banking system,” Dr Singh said.
He added that becoming a known customer of a bank would make it easier for individuals to access services and conduct business in the future.