The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago yesterday announced that it issued provisional registrations to majority State-owned TSTT and a company called PESH Money Ltd as e-money issuers.
In a news release, the Central Bank said the provisional registrations, which cover an initial six-month period, authorise TSTT and PESH to issue e-money in Trinidad and Tobago from March 1, 2023.
Under the terms of the registrations, both companies will be allowed to enlist new customers in a controlled environment monitored by the Central Bank.
E-money can be broadly defined as an electronic store of monetary value on a technological device (including mobile phones) that may be widely used for making payments to entities other than the e-money issuer. E-money can be used for payment transactions with or without bank accounts.
TSTT, a company that was incorporated in this country since 1968, is 51 per cent owned by National Enterprises Ltd—which in turn is majority owned by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago—and 49 per cent by Cable & Wireless (West Indies).
In its news release, the Central Bank said TSTT’s core business is as a mobile network operator and provider of telecommunications solutions to residential and commercial markets in Trinidad and Tobago.
TSTT aims to provide e-wallet services to allow peer-to-peer transfers and payments to merchants in Trinidad and Tobago.
At the launch of its Parlour e-commerce platform in August 2022, TSTT gave a preview of what it said would be the first integrated e-commerce and mobile wallet for T&T.
The platform is called Paypr, which was described at the Parlour launch as “a fast, secure, convenient digital payment solution for everyday life.” For businesses, Paypr was described as “the quicker, simpler, more affordable way to accept payments.
TSTT is one of two companies that are licensed by the Telecommunications Authority of T&T, the industry’s regulator, to provide mobile service in T&T. The other company is Irish-owned Digicel.
PESH is a privately-owned, local company, incorporated since 2017.
The company aims to provide customers with e-wallets to facilitate the storage of e-money and allow peer-to-peer transfers from mobile wallets to mobile phone users in Trinidad and Tobago.
In a related development, the Central Bank said it extended the provisional registration of another company, PayWise Limited for a further 6-month period starting March 1, 2023.
PayWise was granted provisional registration on September 1, 2022, for an initial period of six months.
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