Strengthening national defenses against uses of the financial services infrastructure for money laundering and other illicit ends; including activities that thrive more easily in cash intensive environments. Selected Payments System Indicators By international standards, The Bahamas has a very developed financial system.
However, the averages obscure gaps in who have access to services over our disperse geography, and the  1|Page  inefficiencies that constrain services delivery.12 Banking presence is sporadic on the Family Islands, and absent altogether in a few cases.3 At the national level, trends point to increasing use of electronic payments (see Box 1), but anecdotally the costs of settling transactions is a drag on the speed of change.4 Cost aside, accelerated change could be also encouraged through increased comfort around accepting and making digital payments; and placing these capabilities universally within the reach of more consumers.5 In 2018, the Central Bank conducted a baseline survey on financial literacy and garnered metrics that speak to financial inclusion, along the lines of templates used for the OECD countries (Table1).