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Fast Cash Barbados: More information Please!

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Michael Williams - CEO of Fast Cash
Michael Williams – CEO of Fast Cash

Kindly note that we are aware of this entity which is not licensed by the Central Bank of Barbados. You may refer to our website for a list of financial institutions whom we have licensed to undertake banking business as defined in the Financial Institutions Act, Cap 324A and International Financial Services Act, Cap 325 – www.centralbank.org.bb/Financial System/Licensed Financial Institutions

– Response from Central Bank of Barbados in response to the inquiry ‘Ís this company (Fastcash) licensed to operate in Barbados?’

They say if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it MUST be a duck. Here what we know about a company promoting itself in Barbados under the name Fast Cash Barbados with branches listed in St. Kitts, Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia, Grenada and Antigua.

The Barbados Advocate published full page advertisements last week promoting the company’s services. An official of the company appeared on the CBCTV 8 last night proudly stating that they have captured the second highest amount of ‘instant loans’ in Barbados in the two months they have been operating – link to CBCTV8 article. The local website (fastcash.bb) when clicked as at 5.40AM appears to be a dead link. The parent website (http://www.fastcash.lc/) as at the same time does not list Barbados under ‘select country’ dropdown menu. Dead links exist on the parent website also. The Facebook page of the company list the following information:

If we assume Fast Cash Barbados is a financial company then it falls under the Financial Institutions Act, Cap 324A and International Financial Services Act, Cap 325 which the Central Bank has responsibility. The response quoted by Central Bank indicated Fast Cash in not compliant with the laws of Barbados. A check of the Central Bank of Barbados website does not list Fast Cash Barbados (confirmed by Central Bank via email).  The Financial Services Commission is responsible for regulating Credit Unions, Insurance companies, pensions and securities.

If the company has its bona fides BU will give prominence to a response from Fast Cash Barbados.  One has to wonder about the role of the media in Barbados.

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83 responses to “Fast Cash Barbados: More information Please!”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    Note Caswell’s ranks continue to swell daily amidst the confusion.

  2. The People's Democratic Congress Avatar
    The People’s Democratic Congress

    Lawson,

    Those are the kinds of areas (very loathsome anti-human) where we CANNOT give any moral political or other supports whatsoever to them or to any other financial organizations of the very wicked destructive ideological psychological political exploitation type in this country, given the fourteen (14) fundamental principles that we have so far evolved concerning M and its uses in this country.

    And too these are the areas where David must use the blog to NOT ONLY focus on BUT ALSO to generate significant support on the wider blogosphere for the destruction and replacement of the many outright destructive, sickening and fraudulent policies of the Central Bank of Barbados, the banks, the credit unions, the finance houses, etc in this country.

    Attacking – without foundation or on the wrong premises – the integrity of the business FAST CASH is not going to cut it, primarily because of the many unknown complications involved (in this case), which will very much lead ultimately to clashes between the purveyors of traditional objectives vs the purveyors of innovative objectives of exercising oligarchic political exploitation by psychological financial means of the broad masses and middle classes of people of this country.

    Are-we-there-yet,

    We have seen it happen a few times well on here already.

    We had in one or two cases of such highlighted it to David.

    In spite of these errors, we are still not going to be attempting to tear down David, or BU, in any instance (just a clarification as nothing you
    stated above in addressing us suggests that), as that, David/BU serves a necessary fundamental purpose in channeling information news perspectives from various persons to other persons in this increasingly liberalized and globalized newer technologically driven communication information era.

    PDC

  3. David Avatar
    David

    @PDC

    Nonsense!

    Answer the question posed, what interest rate were you charged?

    We dare you to respond, our bet is that you will NOT, and this is shooting first!

  4. Kevin Avatar
    Kevin

    CAnt people think f or themselves? So what if FastCash charges high interest rates. Its up to the consumer to agree to it or do business with the entity at all. Simples.

  5. David Avatar
    David

    @Kevin

    You are right, live and let live – let the good times roll!

  6. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Royal+Bank+reports+secondquarter+income+increases+cent/9866404/story.html

    http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/scotiabank-posts-1-7b-profit-raises-dividend-1.1712956

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/cibc-hikes-payout-as-profit-beats-street-soars-to-12-billion/article17131787/

    These Banks control 60% of banking in the Caribbean.

    Pay attention.

  7. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    West Indian | May 21, 2014 at 11:53 PM |
    Russia and China signed last night to build a gas pipeline over thousands of miles and send $1 trillion worth of gas from Siberia to China over next 30 years. When is the pipeline from Trinidad to Barbados coming .

    According to the Russians Barbados has been involved in a pipe line to the Ukraine, via a registered company, supplying Mercenaries to that country.

  8. David Avatar
    David

     

    Earlier BU blogs about Blackwater.

    Update: A Private War In Iraq ~ The Barbados Connection

    Nation Newspaper Breaks Blackwater Story Almost Eleven Months After Original Story

  9. Brief Avatar
    Brief

    This is a very good business opportunity as long as resources are available for sustainability.

    I think our biggest interest in this entire affair should be that Fast Cash has registered to work in Barbados; NIS, Income Tax and all other governmental regulations are followed and are up-to-date, the staff is free to join a trade union of their choice and that the company is operating within the laws of Barbados.

    The repayment of loan at their interest rate is a decision of choice by the consumer and consumer alone.

    Let us encourage business in Barbados and think outside the box. How many wealthy and capable Barbadians would venture into to such an operation to help their countryman with shortterm loans?

    18 months to repay a maximum $12k benefits the company as the interest covers 24 months when you calculate it. So the company benefits tremendously. We go into business to profit don’t we?

    One question is who is funding this corporation?

  10. David Avatar
    David

    @brief

    Don’t you think you should ask the question you ended with first? Why is it when Barbadians ask questions we have some of you who would blanket such concerns with the economic argument that we should encourage business even if it means at any cost? A government’s role is to protect people from themselves if we consider it necessary. We live on an island which is drowning in conspicuous consumption. What do you think will happen if moneylenders are allowed to enter in this environment without controls? This is what will happen, Tom, Dick and Harry will borrow until there is no tomorrow and then the taxpayers will have to bail everybody out. Why can’t we think strategic for a change?

  11. Annie Avatar
    Annie

    Sounds like loan sharks to me.

  12. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    What loan sharks what Annie…!
    These are just another set of ordinary foreigners who recognize a set of brass bowls when they see them…

  13. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    12000 divided by 18 = $667 per month.plus interest.

  14. Macbeth Avatar
    Macbeth

    The FCA takes control as the regulator of consumer credit — which includes around 200 payday lenders — on 1 April 2014, and one of the first things it will do is to launch a review into payday lending and other high-cost short-term lending, according to a statement released today. This follows the announcement of new rules for payday lenders, confirmed in February, that will mean companies such as Wonga and QuickQuid will have to carry out affordability checks on borrowers before lending and will have to limit the number of times a loan can be rolled over, capping extra fees incurred in doing so.

    Payday lenders will have to seek full FCA authorisation first, and the FCA expects that a quarter of companies won’t be able to meet the consumer protection standards and will leave the market.

    Payday lending has become a priority because 60 percent of complaints to the Office of Fair Trading are about how debts are collected. The review will investigate how the companies treat their customers through their communications and how (or if) they propose that customers regain control of their finances, and how sympathetic they are to individual cases.

    The review will see the FCA visit the largest companies, assess any financial promotions and ban any misleading statements about the risk involved in high-cost loans, investigate the worst performing companies (according to OFT complaints) and consider a cap on the total cost of credit for all of these sorts of lenders, to be implemented in 2015.

    Martin Wheatley, FCA chief executive, said: “Our new rules mean that anybody taking out a payday loan will be treated much better than before. But that’s just part of the story; one in three loans go unpaid or are repaid late so we will be looking specifically at how firms treat customers struggling with repayments.

    “These are often the people that struggle to make ends meet day to day, so we would expect them to be treated with sensitivity, yet some of the practices we have seen don’t do this.”

    Russell Hamblin-Boone, Chief Executive of the Consumer Finance Association, which represents many payday lenders, said in a statement: “We support action to tackle poor practice and of course the best known lenders will cooperate with another in a long series of reviews, but we urge the FCA to use its proposed price cap on credit to tackle excessive default fees and charges which are used by the least reputable lenders to profit from customers already in dire straits.”wwired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-03/12/fca-regulation-of-payday-lenders

  15. David Avatar
    David

    @PDC

    The BU family awaits you input. What rate are you being charged?

  16. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    The Government has imposed a new tax on the assets of Credit Unions. What additional taxes are payable on the profits from money lenders like FastCash other than corporation tax?

  17. David Avatar
    David

    @Adrian

    All some of us have been asking is who regulates this glorified moneylender and instead we get PDC attacking BU about the thoroughness of our report. So PDC we please guilty and ask you again what interest rate is Fast Cash charging your loan?

  18. Macbeth Avatar
    Macbeth

    The FCA takes control as the regulator of consumer credit — which includes around 200 payday lenders — on 1 April 2014, and one of the first things it will do is to launch a review into payday lending and other high-cost short-term lending, according to a statement released today. This follows the announcement of new rules for payday lenders, confirmed in February, that will mean companies such as Wonga and QuickQuid will have to carry out affordability checks on borrowers before lending and will have to limit the number of times a loan can be rolled over, capping extra fees incurred in doing so.

    Payday lenders will have to seek full FCA authorisation first, and the FCA expects that a quarter of companies won’t be able to meet the consumer protection standards and will leave the market.

    Payday lending has become a priority because 60 percent of complaints to the Office of Fair Trading are about how debts are collected. The review will investigate how the companies treat their customers through their communications and how (or if) they propose that customers regain control of their finances, and how sympathetic they are to individual cases.

    The review will see the FCA visit the largest companies, assess any financial promotions and ban any misleading statements about the risk involved in high-cost loans, investigate the worst performing companies (according to OFT complaints) and consider a cap on the total cost of credit for all of these sorts of lenders, to be implemented in 2015.

    Martin Wheatley, FCA chief executive, said: “Our new rules mean that anybody taking out a payday loan will be treated much better than before. But that’s just part of the story; one in three loans go unpaid or are repaid late so we will be looking specifically at how firms treat customers struggling with repayments.

    “These are often the people that struggle to make ends meet day to day, so we would expect them to be treated with sensitivity, yet some of the practices we have seen don’t do this.”

    Russell Hamblin-Boone, Chief Executive of the Consumer Finance Association, which represents many payday lenders, said in a statement: “We support action to tackle poor practice and of course the best known lenders will cooperate with another in a long series of reviews, but we urge the FCA to use its proposed price cap on credit to tackle excessive default fees and charges which are used by the least reputable lenders to profit from customers already in dire straits.”

  19. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    David,
    I cannot believe that these entities are not legally obliged to publish interest rates charged. It simply could not happen in the US. Canada and Britain and I suspect most other countries.

  20. David Avatar
    David

    If the Central Bank and Financial Services Commission are not charged to regulate moneylenders like Fast Cash then it must be the Fair Trading Commission using the Consumer Protection Act to step in.

  21. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    I wonder how many politicians and judicial members are behind this business?

  22. lawson Avatar
    lawson

    these are lenders of last resort, its not the well off that will need them. its not the very poor that can use them it is that segment of the population that have enough to lose that the finance company feels a high level of confidence they will get the money back. or can take an asset to satisfy the loan. People with erratic earnings see these lenders as a resource till their next pay day, and for some it may be the only option from time to time. It just sticks in my craw that some old pensioner or invalid has to pass on a portion of their taxpayer funded benefit to a finance company each month to pay the interest. Like pawn shops a lot of these businesses spring up when times are bad and are a bellwether of how things are in an economy
    PDC simple question… what was the rate you were charged if you really did borrow from them, although are credit cards any better?

  23. The People's Democratic Congress Avatar
    The People’s Democratic Congress

    To David and Lawson,

    The PDC has not done any business with FAST CASH.

    Indeed, a careful and proper reading by any one on BU of the third paragraph of our 7.20 am, May 22, 2014, submission to this BU network does NOT indicate that we have had a business relationship with FAST CASH.

    For, the mere possession by the PDC of a brochure that many others who have done business with FAST CASH have also had is surely NOT enough of a basis for some people on BU to – on the basis of a particular reference by us to the fact of possession of the brochure – seize upon and write or posit on here that we have done business with them.

    So, therefore this impressionistic posture of the same people on here, to wit, “tell us the interest rates that you have agreed to with them”, or words to that effect, does and will not logically follow, for us.

    So, indeed, such a casual reference is surely NOT enough of a basis for any one thinking thereafter the reference was made, that we have this business relationship with FAST CASH.

    PDC

  24. I am Ram Goat Avatar
    I am Ram Goat

    Who gave these jokers permission to enter this country and to operate then ?

  25. David Avatar
    David

    Note that as at today Fast Cash website does not list Barbados.

    We also note that the Central Bank is aware of Fast Cash which is NOT licensed by the Central Bank.

    So far no authority, media house or any other in civil society see this type of company as a problem. A problem because in the developed countries where they exist there has been a move to regulate them.

  26. John Avatar
    John

    Is this the company you mean?

    Name FASTCASH BIM LTD
    Number 37859
    Category Company
    Date registered / Incorporated 2014-01-27

  27. Brief Avatar
    Brief

    David: ‘Why is it when Barbadians ask questions we have some of you who would blanket such concerns with the economic argument that we should encourage business even if it means at any cost? A government’s role is to protect people from themselves if we consider it necessary.’

    Really David? You question those that come into Barbados with money and try to pull them to pieces, strip them bare and send them out shamefacedly.

    We have members of Parliament with a manifesto and printed news reports that can be retrieved and they are all today still in Government re-elected and the same protection of our people required from those leaders was destroyed through breach in process when they were laid off. The very PM stated the process was not right.

    How many of the workers that were laid off received their monies in lieu of notice? Employment Rights Act stipulate that they should receive payment in lieu of notice.

    Will they receive interest for each day they are not paid? No regulation for that. Whose money is being used to pay the workers laid off by our Government? Tax payers.

    What say do you have to cause them to change their decision? None … oh yes in 2018 … correct.

    Money is coming into this island by Fast Cash and it is not a ponzi scheme. If it is, show it up and don’t utter a word about protecting people from themselves except you can show that you can protect the people from themselves as taxpayers in this island.

    They paid their taxes and ‘themselves’ (Government of Barbados who they are paying and who they elected) fired them without just cause, appraisal and without notice (same day dismissal). Remember?

    Again, who is protecting us from ourselves as Barbadians, David?

    Charity begins at home still.

  28. Michel D Williams, CGA, FCCA, CM&AA Avatar
    Michel D Williams, CGA, FCCA, CM&AA

    Hi David,

    Since my picture is posted on your comment and I am the CEO of this company in the Caribbean I feel compelled to respond to your posting. Firstly, we do not fall under the Financial Institutions Act, Cap 324A as confirmed by the Central Bank of Barbados, in response to our enquiry, via their letter to us dated February 26, 2014. The FIA deals exclusively with deposit taking financial institutions which we are not. Secondly, we are fully compliant with all local laws which govern our operations in Barbados. Further our website for clarity is http://www.fastcashcaribbean.com

    If you are genuinely interested in finding out who we are and what we are about, feel free to contact me directly at mwilliams@fastcash.dm.

    regards,
    Michel D. Williams, CGA,FCCA, CM&AA

  29. David Avatar
    David

    @Mr. Williams

    Thanks for your intervention and concede Fash Cash escapes oversight of the Financial Institution Act. However, based on developments in more developed markets we believe companies like Fast Cash should be more rigorously regulated.

    On Thursday, 18 September 2014, Barbados Underground wrote:

    >

  30. Michel D. Williams, CGA, FCCA, CM&AA Avatar
    Michel D. Williams, CGA, FCCA, CM&AA

    @ David…

    We have not escaped regulation. We are not a deposit taking institution and therefore, do not fall under the existing legislation. We are regulated in countries that have specific legislation that covers our type of business. I think it is disingenuous to characterize us as escaping regulation that does not exist.

    In markets where we have preceded regulations that govern our business, we have been active partners with the regulators in the implementation and ultimate compliance with the rules.

    Please stop trying to scare folks!! We are nothing more than a consumer lender that does not take collateral and price our risk accordingly.

  31. David Avatar
    David

    @Mr. Williams

    How is BU scaring anybody looking to borrow? Our concern with your type of business in the Barbados market is that it takes advantage of an ignorant consumer population, we are a market that does not practice active consumerism and like you correctly stated your price point given the high risk taking makes lending extremely expensive for borrowers. It would be very interesting if you are able to provide more information to the profile of customer you attract, A, B, C, D, the range of interest rates in your portfolio, your delinquency, do you have plans for expansion in Barbados? What about financial advice, do you offer?

  32. Angry Customer Avatar
    Angry Customer

    Can the CEO of fast cash kindly respond to his emails or do you have to air your views and get a response only via Barbados Underground

  33. David Avatar
    David

    @Angry Customer

    What kind of problem have you been experiencing?

    On Monday, 16 March 2015, Barbados Underground wrote:

    >

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