Faster money transfers now available

The Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) launched its Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) project in Antigua and Barbuda yesterday. The EFT allows all customers of all local commercial banks to transfer money in a single day, faster and more cost efficient than a wire transfer.
This was disclosed by the Marketing Manager and Public Relations Officer of the Antigua Commercial Bank, Shantia Edwards, in an exclusive interview on OBSERVER AM yesterday. 
Edwards, who is part of the Antigua and Barbuda Bankers Association, said: “Banking is dynamic, and we know customers have various needs, so we are always here to be more efficient; more cost effective and have your funds available to you in quick time.”
She explained that the EFT will accommodate swift payments through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network. She added that the ACH is “the electronic payment network that allows the clearing of electronic payments between financial institutions.”
According to Edwards, customers would only need to send instructions to their bank to authorise payments. She highlighted that with the EFT, the banks will then send the funds, through the ACH network, to the bank of the individual or business that the customer wishes to pay. She added that the EFT will allow the payment to be available the same day.
Edwards disclosed that the EFT, which was also launched yesterday in St. Kitts and Nevis, will be implemented throughout all countries of the ECCU by next month, June.
When the EFT is available in other countries, there can be a transfer of money to these countries in a single day as well, she added.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)