EXCLUSIVE: “Lift-Off in Barbados” – Marilyn Brathwaite and Jonathan Brathwaite, Payment Spayce in ‘The Fintech Magazine’

As the Caribbean island charts a real-time path, Payment Spayce is already looking at the next frontier

When the name Payment Spayce first began circulating, observers might have expected some kind of space-tech experiment. The reality is something far more grounded, yet no less forward-looking.

Recently rebranded, the US payment services provider is anchoring itself in the Caribbean’s emerging fintech ecosystem just as the island’s regulatory, infrastructural and reputational stars begin to align. Because Barbados, long known for its picture-postcard beaches and conservative banking sector, is quietly becoming one of the region’s most intriguing fintech testbeds.

The Central Bank of Barbados and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) have spent the past five years methodically modernising their oversight frameworks, separating regulatory functions from government, and opening pathways for digital innovators through a sandbox regime that was first launched in 2018.

It’s a measured, deliberate evolution – one that reflects both lessons learned and ambitions renewed. The FSC’s latest annual report, pointedly titled Navigating Change: A Regulatory Odyssey, signals a more confident stance: independent, future-facing, and increasingly open to collaboration with private innovators like Payment Spayce.

From compliance burden to compliance advantage In fintech, timing is everything, and Payment Spayce is ready to take advantage of a moment when Barbados’ institutional foundations are catching up with its entrepreneurial appetite. The island’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring marked a turning point in 2024, restoring international confidence and giving local firms a clearer runway to engage global partners.

At the same time, the Central Bank’s partnership with global financial technology provider Montran to deliver BiMPay, a national instant payments platform capable of sub-10-second transactions, is setting the stage for a cash-light economy by 2026. And in September this year, the Central Bank issued a new regulatory framework for payment service providers. Within this ecosystem, Payment Spayce believes it stands out for its regulatory discipline and organic growth model.

“We’ve built our stack in-house over 20 years, without venture capital or private equity funding,” explains Jonathan Brathwaite, Chief Legal Officer at Payment Spayce’s parent, Spayce Technologies Inc. “That gives us agility – our wallet, gateway and card infrastructure have all been designed with compliance in mind, from the ground up. As regulations evolve, we can adapt in real time.”

That adaptability is proving central to the company’s value proposition, which is closely aligned with two of the world’s biggest card schemes. Spayce’s digital wallet integrates directly with Visa in the United States and Mastercard in Canada, offering both digital and physical cards tailored to each market. Rather than view regulation as an obstacle, the company sees it as a differentiator. It recently announced a partnership with Israel-based AI-powered financial crime compliance solutions provider ThetaRay, which uses advanced AI-driven transaction monitoring to strengthen anti-money laundering and fraud detection, without sacrificing transaction speed – a key consideration for markets still under scrutiny for financial transparency.

The Barbados advantage

What makes Barbados an ideal proving ground for a company like Payment Spayce? Stability, says Marilyn Brathwaite, Chief of Staff at Spayce Technologies Inc.

“Barbados has had a stable banking sector for more than half a century,” she notes. “Fintech is the natural next step – bringing the financial system into the 21st century while creating new career opportunities for young professionals. The legislation is in place, the infrastructure is growing, and the talent is here.”

One of the early fintech entrants in the Barbadian market, the company has leaned heavily on that local strength.

“We’ve been able to find great people from banks and private institutions who understand risk, regulation, and service,” adds Brathwaite. “We’re blending that traditional banking discipline with new technology.”

That blending of old and new extends to the broader ecosystem. The Fintech Islands conference (FiX25), held in Bridgetown earlier this year, showcased Barbados as a bridge between the Caribbean, North America and Africa – a regional nexus for digital finance. Speakers highlighted not just innovation but also credibility. The island’s regulators, once seen as overly cautious, are now praised for being predictably thorough. Barbados’ transformation is also reshaping regional dynamics. With neighbouring markets such as Jamaica, the Bahamas and Trinidad exploring central bank digital currencies and open-banking pilots, the Caribbean is becoming a test bed for cross-border interoperability.

Barbados’ appeal lies in its combination of credibility and agility – its regulatory independence, strong banking heritage, and investor-friendly tax incentives have positioned it as a jurisdiction where global fintechs can experiment without excessive red tape. For Payment Spayce, that blend of pragmatism and progress offers an ideal foundation: a small but connected island, ready to prove that innovation need not come at the expense of oversight.

Wearables, wallets, and what comes next

As Payment Spayce refines its wallet proposition, it is already eyeing the next frontier: wearables.

“The wearable payments market is growing at around 40 per cent annually,” says Brathwaite. “We see opportunities to integrate our technology into devices that are part of everyday life, whether that’s fitness trackers, rings or smart watches. The goal is frictionless, compliant and context-aware payments.”

The company’s dual-market approach – Barbados as operational base, North America as commercial backbone – creates a unique testing environment. It can trial products in a small, regulated market before scaling them into the US and Canada, where its card partnerships already provide direct channels to consumers. And timing again appears to favour the firm. The forthcoming US Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which seeks to delineate oversight of digital assets between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), could reshape the compliance contours of cross-border digital finance.

Spayce’s homegrown technology stack, tuned for flexibility, allows it to adjust faster than firms reliant on third-party vendors. The FSC’s Regulatory Odyssey report highlights a shift from reactive rulemaking to proactive capacity building. That independence – separating supervision from ministerial control – has given Barbados credibility among institutional investors wary of political interference. Meanwhile, BiMPay’s impending rollout represents more than just a national payments upgrade; it’s a statement of intent.

For the first time, Barbadians will have an instant payments system designed locally, governed transparently, and open to private sector participation.

Payment Spayce’s leadership believes that collaboration between fintechs, traditional banks and regulators will define the island’s next decade and beyond.

“Cross-training is key,” says Marilyn Brathwaite. “We’ve built an ecosystem where people in Barbados can work interchangeably with teams in North America or Europe. That makes us globally competitive.”

Signals from the market

The ecosystem’s evolution is being felt beyond financial corridors. Uber’s recent entry into Barbados, for instance, is expected to accelerate the shift toward digital payments and merchant digitisation. As ride-hailing and food delivery platforms gain traction, consumers’ expectations around cashless convenience will rise – a tide that lifts all fintech boats.

And Payment Spayce, with its hybrid of domestic presence and international connectivity, is well-positioned to capture that momentum. Its compliance-led, partnership-rich model could help make Barbados a credible export base for financial innovation rather than just a tax-efficient HQ.

Countdown to lift off

Success for Payment Spayce, and for Barbados’ fintech sector more broadly, is likely to hinge on three converging factors. Firstly, the execution of BiMPay, where seamless rollout, merchant acceptance and public confidence will determine whether instant payments become ubiquitous. Then there is the dependence on further regulatory clarity in North America. The Clarity Act and parallel Canadian updates will dictate wallet architecture and token handling standards. And to become truly jet-propelled, cross-border credibility and reliability will be vital. Partnerships like the one with ThetaRay must prove that compliance technology can scale without stifling speed or user experience.

If those elements come together, Barbados could find itself transformed from a peripheral player into a pivotal fintech hub. Its journey has been more marathon than moonshot, much like Payment Spayce’s own. And while the island might not be reaching for the stars just yet, its fintech sector, led by firms like Payment Spayce, is certainly  entering a higher sphere.

This article was published in The Fintech Magazine Issue #37, Page 26-27

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