Dear Editor,
Local software developers and IT service providers can bring in foreign currency for Guyana. This is the nature of the Internet. It knows no borders. In the present-day, even lone-wolf app developers can attain massive success. It is an amazing time to be a software developer. You no longer have to build your own data center and hire teams of engineers just to get some software up and running. A single developer can create an app and get it hosted easily and cheaply so that people can use it. Once an app is hosted, it can be accessed by anyone across the globe. So what’s to stop local developers from bringing home the bacon?
The answer is the lack of correspondent banking. In truth, there is more to it than that, but the lack of correspondent banking is the single most critical factor. With correspondent banking services in place, it becomes easier and faster to facilitate the movement of funds across borders and across currencies. Once local banks are part of the correspondent banking networks, it becomes possible for local developers to integrate secure payment processors into their apps. Payment processors allow customer payments to go straight into merchant bank accounts. Very simply, the way a payment processor works goes something like this: a customer visits a merchant’s website to purchase a product or service, the customer enters their debit or credit card information into a form at checkout.
The form is provided by a payment processor. The payment processor then initiates a sequence of communications to carry out the payment from customer to merchant. First, the customer bank balance or credit card limit is checked. Once the customer has the sufficient balance or is within their credit card limit, the payment can be made. The payment processor then contacts a database of card schemes to see if the card number is valid. Visa and Mastercard are examples of card schemes. If the card is valid, the merchant’s website is sent a message to confirm that the customer has paid. Eventually, the customer’s account is charged and the merchant’s bank account is increased by the respective amount. Yes, we can build our own computer systems to facilitate local payment processors but this solution alone would not enable us to sell our products internationally.
With correspondent banking in place, our potential customer bases would widen to include the entire Internet-using Planet Earth! In other words, online business can become a form of export sector for Guyana and the Caribbean, earning foreign dollars. This means that IT (a term that is becoming replaced by ‘Software’) is likely a vastly untapped sector in Guyana. Payment service providers, such as PayPal, provide secure payment processors and connect different banks together to guarantee that this all works. It does not matter where on the globe the banks are situated. As of right now, many banks in the region are not a part of these networks due to neglect. A situation that may be changing, as US-Caribbean relations unfold.
Editor, it is no secret that these kinds of facilities unlock potentials and are pre-requisite for success in our complex world. I have seen letter writers, in the past, refer to online systems such as these, as “too advanced for Guyana”. I have seen Guyanese business owners, with citizenships in other countries, shamelessly air this kind of view about the people of Guyana. In my opinion, those views are beside the point. In my view, people need better information about what is possible for them. People need a better sense of what to work towards and people especially need a better sense of what to ask of their societies.
Sincerely,
Emille Giddings
