The utilization of the online realm by young entrepreneurs from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has become increasingly prevalent. However, a persistent issue arises as entrepreneurs attempt to receive payments through Paypal via local banks. According to the islands Finance Minister, Camilo Gonsalves, discussions with PayPal are in progress, but at a frustratingly sluggish pace.
“PayPal has essentially told us that there is no legal reason why we should be treated differently than other ECCU countries because you have the same currency, legal system, and banking system.” But, because there was a certain amount of mass involved, we did them all at once. We’re not sure why St. Vincent and the Grenadines slipped through the cracks.”
“We explained our legal system to them because they had questions.” Their initial stance was basically, “How come you don’t have what some of these other countries have?” There must be some flaw in your legislation. So we don’t know what it is, but there must be something wrong.”
“We had to meet with their legal departments to explain that there is no legal impediment, no blacklist impediment, and no built-in restrictions.” So we went through the entire procedure, and they are satisfied that there is no barrier to them providing the service. The question for them now is simple: “Are you worth it for us to move quickly?”
According to Gonsalves, PayPal has expressed the view that St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) lacks a substantial client base, therefore diminishing the significance of their operations in the country. This is the state of affairs and current activity being undertaken is advocacy.
“Right now, it’s a matter of advocacy and, to be honest, harassment of Paypal to ensure that they are on board or at least on parity with some of the other Eastern Caribbean currency union countries.”
According to Gonsalves, a specific timeline for PayPal’s integration with SVG cannot be provided currently. Nevertheless, this continues to be a significant concern for the individuals involved, who are consistently dedicated to addressing the situation.
“We’ve made significant progress in the background in terms of convincing them that we have legal parity, currency parity, and all of these other reasons.” So all that remains is for them to execute the necessary work and flick the switch. So it’s now in their hands.”
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is a multinational financial technology firm based in the United States that operates an online payments system in the majority of countries that enable online money transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders.
