The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) in collaboration with the Guyana Bankers’ Association yesterday examined the possibility of alternative payment methods to cash.A forum, which was held at the Georgetown Club, saw participation from various banks and representation from several companies including Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), TCL Limited,NFL Jerseys Cheap, Carib Cash and others.President of GCCI, Chandradat Chintamani; Managing Director of Republic Bank, Guyana Limited, Edwin Gooding, and Republic Bank’s senior manager,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, John Alves, were present answering the many questions of the participants.Chintamani said that he is advocating for some regulations to be put in place as it relates to the withdrawal of cash from the bank. According to him,Authentic NFL Jerseys Wholesale, there should be a ceiling in terms of transactions that involve cash.He pointed that if there is such a ceiling, then it forces people to look at alternative methods of payment.Chintamani said that the risk of loss would also be minimized. He noted that if the ceiling is $1M, then in the event that something goes wrong the person’s loss would be $1M.There is also the reduction in the number of armed robberies and the resultant drop in the loss of life and limb.According to Chintamani,Wholesale Jerseys, they would like to engage the Ministry of Finance and in terms of security – the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Customs and Trade Administration.He also opined that Guyana is moving from a cash society, which it has always been,Jerseys From China, to a plastic society and there is no medium in place to facilitate the transition. Chintamani said that they are hoping that cheques will be that medium.Meanwhile, Gooding said that as a result of yesterday’s session, they will now have to meet with the Bankers’ Association and share with them the feedback that they got.He pointed out that there are some issues which he feels they can work on immediately and they can do more in terms of educating customers.“I think it was clear coming out the session that everyone was interested in reducing the use of cash because of the security issues and danger it presents by walking around with huge amounts of cash,” Gooding noted.According to him, it is really important for them to continue having these discussions so that they can continually get feedback from the merchants to improve the whole system.He pointed out that because Guyana is a cash-based society, it will take time for persons to move out of that era. Gooding stated that some of the issues identified for discussion are making merchants more aware of the services such as the benefits of using certified cheques as opposed to cash and the benefits of using a payroll service at the bank as opposed to paying cash at business premises.Other issues include educating customers on the issue of how the banks can collaborate to have promotions to encourage the use of electronic banking.One concern raised by the participants is the fact that merchants lack confidence in cheques. One person suggested that an association be set up that can provide verification of a cheque based on a phone call.The representative from TCL Limited said that cheques are not legal tender.He noted that some kind of regulatory enforcement is needed that speaks of illegitimating the risks.The recourse is seeking prosecution for credit by fraud. However,Cheap Jerseys China, Gooding said that the banks would seek to advise the customer who writes dishonoured cheques and if he persists, close the account.But there is still the problem if the individual has cheque leaves.Mr Gooding said that should the individual be bent on writing bad cheques then to the extent that he has leaves to that extent will he write dishonoured cheques.Another suggestion was to reduce the time it takes to clear a cheque.This newspaper understands that it takes three days to clear a cheque.Participants also sought to find out when a machine will be available that can clear anybody’s plastic. Gooding was unable to give a time frame.A concern raised by the representative from Carib Cash is the fact that wire transfers have moved from 24 hours to 48 hours to clear.Gooding said that he would have to examine this report.