Banks in Guyana

The six commercial banks in Guyana are Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited, Guyana Bank for Trade & Industry Limited, Bank of Nova Scotia, Demerara Bank Limited, Citizens Bank Guyana Incorporated and Bank of Baroda (Guyana) Incorporated. The New Building Society Limited and Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation Incorporated are deposit-taking non-banks. In December 2025, commercial banks held G$1,194,537 million, or 91.7% of deposits, while deposit-taking non-banks held G$108,828 million, or 8.3%. The Bank of Guyana is the central bank and regulates and supervises licensed financial institutions under the Bank of Guyana Act 1998 and the Financial Institutions Act 1995. It also oversees the national payment system, clearing arrangements, anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing controls, and credit reporting. The Deposit Insurance Corporation protects eligible deposits at all eight member institutions. A customer can usually open a savings account, current or chequing account, fixed or term deposit, foreign-currency account or special investment account. Banks may also provide payroll services, standing orders, utility-bill payments, cheques, bank drafts, money orders and safety-deposit boxes. The usual identification is a National ID card, passport or driver’s licence together with proof of address. A bank may request a bank reference, and the opening deposit, required documents, opening hours and fees vary by institution. Know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering checks are required, and low-risk customer information must be refreshed at least every seven years. The national payment system uses G-ACH, which includes electronic funds transfers and electronic cheque clearing, and G-RTGS for high-value or time-critical payments. An electronic funds transfer can be initiated through a bank account, ATM, point-of-sale terminal, telephone or mobile service, internet banking, or a debit or credit card. The Bank of Guyana lists weekday G-ACH batch windows of 08:00–10:00, 10:01–12:30 and 12:31–15:30. Electronic transfers often arrive in less than one day, but charges and exact processing times depend on the bank. A wrong account number is generally difficult to reverse. G-RTGS payments are final and irrevocable after execution. Electronic cheque clearing supports same-day clearing, while older manual cheque processing can take at least three business days. Debit and credit cards can support ATM withdrawals, deposits, balance checks, statements and point-of-sale payments. PINs must remain secret. Daily limits, transaction limits, ATM charges and merchant acceptance vary by bank and merchant. Internet banking and telephone banking can provide account information, transfers and utility-bill payments. Licensed non-bank payment service providers also operate in Guyana, including Mobile Money (Guyana) Incorporated, licensed in 2024, and Kanoo (Guyana) Incorporated, also licensed in 2024. Mobile wallets and mobile payments are expanding, although availability and interoperability depend on the provider. Deposit insurance covers demand or chequing deposits, savings deposits and time deposits or certificates of deposit. The maximum is G$2,000,000 per depositor per member institution, including interest, and accounts held by the same depositor at one institution are aggregated. A joint account is treated as one account with a maximum coverage of G$2,000,000, normally divided equally between the holders. Foreign-currency deposits are paid in Guyana dollars using the Bank of Guyana exchange rate on the liquidation date. The Deposit Insurance Corporation must generally pay insured amounts within 30 calendar days. Amounts above the limit become claims against the liquidator. Exclusions include deposits of financial institutions, insurers and pension funds, central or local government deposits, deposits at foreign branches, certain insiders or shareholders holding at least 5%, and deposits connected with suspected money laundering or terrorist financing. Bank customers should check account conditions, fees, minimum balances and cheque terms before signing. They should keep the bank’s contact details and the lost-card or fraud-reporting procedure available. Customers must keep identification, contact details and transaction information accurate. If a complaint is not resolved by the bank, the customer can contact the Bank of Guyana; no separate banking ombudsman equivalent was directly identified. Access to branches, ATMs and point-of-sale terminals varies by bank, especially in rural and hinterland areas. The Bank of Guyana’s 2023–2027 financial-inclusion plan therefore promotes low-cost banking, agency banking and digital financial services, particularly for rural and hinterland communities, Indigenous communities, women, young people and low-income households. Phishing, shared PINs, exposed passwords and stolen card or account details create avoidable risks, so suspected fraud or loss should be reported to the bank immediately.