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Banking Industry

The Banking Industry

Know The Facts

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At present there are eight commercial banks operating in Trinidad and Tobago with an extensive network of 123 branches. The commercial banks remain the single largest group of financial institutions in terms of assets. Two of the locally owned banks have established a commercial presence in various territories in the Caribbean.

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There is considerable growth in the use of ATMs estimated at 496 in 2021 (latest data by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago). Banks have also been providing telephone and Internet banking services. Four banks share a linked network of ATMs and debit point-of-sale operations.

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Banks now offer a relatively sophisticated menu of services. There is some blurring of the distinction between banks and non-banks and many banks offer a variety of innovative financial products, including retirement plans denominated in US currency, individual annuity plans, and mutual funds including offshore equity funds. Banks are also playing a central role in the development of the money market.

See Also Our Glossary Of Banking Terms

The Institute of Banking & Finance:

The Institute

The Institute of Banking and Finance of Trinidad and Tobago (IBF) is a non-profit organization established in 1984. IBF is the educational arm of the Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago (BATT).

Council Members

The Institute’s Council Members are representatives of each of its corporate member institutions: Citibank (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited, First Citizens, JMMB Bank Trinidad Limited, RBC Royal Bank (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, Republic Bank Limited, Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited, First Caribbean International Bank (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited, Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago and the University of the West Indies (St. Augustine Campus).

IBF's Mission

IBF's mission is to facilitate the continuous development of banking and finance professionals and to promote high standards of knowledge, skills and conduct to meet the demands of a changing financial industry. Accordingly, the Institute plays an integral role in the advancement of banking and finance professionals through its professional education programmes – the Diploma in Banking (DIB), the Professional Certificate for Financial Advisors (Cert.FA) – and corporate training services.

Know The History.

Milestones In The Banking Sector Of T&T:

Unveiled as the “Mary Anne All Day All Night Service”, the first ATM was installed by the Workers Bank in 1979 – allowing customers to get cash, without having to walk into that one branch.

Today the growth of ATMs has been exponential both in the number of installed ATMs in addition to what they can do for banking customers. Now customers, across multiple banks, are no longer bound to banking hours when they need cash. With an estimated 496 machines across the country (2021) the ATM is widely used, offering customers a range of services, from core functions such as depositing and withdrawing money to credit card payments, cheque deposits and reviewing balances.

With the expansion of ATMs, debit cards have become an important part of the banking landscape, as too credit cards, the first which was issued by Republic Bank in 1990. In recent years, the reward schemes offered alongside credit cards have added to the successful adoption of credit cards.

Digitalisation of banking services has enabled customers to conduct financial services, either on their computer and mobile device, without stepping foot in the banking hall. Customers can transfer funds, pay bills, monitor accounts and much more, from anywhere, at anytime. Now banking has turned into a much more instantaneous process than in the past.

The LINX debit card was introduced in 1995, allowing card holders to access funds from any ATM, with added functionality as usability was expanded to include use at point of sale terminals (POS) and online shopping in Trinidad and Tobago. Also of note, is the evolution of the LINX Visa Debit Card which offers the multiple options of contactless transactions and local online purchases while still offering the ability to be used at ATMs and point of sale terminals.

The LINX debit card was introduced in 1995, allowing card holders to access funds from any ATM, with added functionality as usability was expanded to include use at point of sale terminals (POS) and online shopping in Trinidad and Tobago. Also of note, is the evolution of the LINX Visa Debit Card which offers the multiple options of contactless transactions and local online purchases while still offering the ability to be used at ATMs and point of sale terminals.

Established in 2005, ACH has become one of the principal payment mechanisms in the country, facilitating the batch processing of recurrent credit and debit transactions such as salaries. In tandem with the ACH process, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago’s Real Time Gross Settlement system, efficiently and timely facilitates the transfer of funds from one bank to another.

The electronic cheque clearing system was introduced in 2023 across the banking sector. The electronic cheque replaces actual paper cheques with digital images of cheques which are exchanged between banks. The new system allows financial institutions faster and more convenient access to cheque images, thus offering customers the benefit of having their cheques settled within a shorter time frame.