St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board met with The St. Maarten Bankers Association on Wednesday.
Chief on the agenda was the creation of online payment possibilities for businesses and organizations registered at the chamber to settle their annual fees as well as payment for other services the Chamber provides.
The online payment structure is tied into the Chamber of Commerce’s plan to take its Registry and related services completely digitally next year. The Bankers Association has agreed to work with the Chamber to make online payment possible.
A system for prearranged annual payments for businesses and organizations registered with the Chamber via their banks is being worked on as well. This value add service will include automatic annual updates of the entity’s files at the bank and updated excerpts issued while the annual Chamber fees would be settled simultaneously via a prearranged account debit.
Banks will also be given online access to the Chamber’s registry to speed up banking processes and services to registered businesses and organizations.
The public will be informed about these services via the media once the process is completed, tested and ready for implementation.
The Chamber was updated by the bankers about the tremendous risk banks face every day with credit and debit card transactions. Both institutions see the need for suggestions of new legislation for the financial sector to consider avenues for new and improve services to combat ATM skimming and credit card fraud, people and businesses issuing "bad" checks and the possibility of an adaption of a check verification system.
Challenges faced by businesses in general with Point of Sale payments when the communication lines are overwhelmed during peak times; and a solution to such was also discussed.
The Bankers Association were apprised of the public-private business symposium on identifying the country’s sub-Hub function. This is a collaboration of the Chamber, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Bankers were requested to determine the types of services and support the banks can offer to support this regional sub-hub function. This would add another layer to the hub definition for the country.