Treaty-based international business centre with a long record in captive insurance and international banking. Since 1 January 2019 its former offshore banks have been licensed under the Financial Institutions Act as foreign currency earning banks, supervised by the Central Bank of Barbados alongside domestic banks. Non-bank financial services such as securities, insurance and pensions fall under the Financial Services Commission.
Risk flagStandard
FATFNot listed
EU AML high-risk listNot listed
EU tax listNot listed
Licence regimes5
CurrencyBBD
S&P ratingB+
Next electiondue by 2031
Not on the FATF lists (statement of 19 June 2026; removed from increased monitoring in February 2024). Removed from the EU high-risk third country list by Delegated Reg. (EU) 2025/1184, in force 5 August 2025. Not on the EU tax list, which was last updated 17 February 2026; it left Annex II on 14 February 2023. Checked 7 October 2026.
Government and politics
Government
Parliamentary republic
President
Jeffrey Bostic · since November 2025
Prime Minister
Mia Mottley (Barbados Labour Party (BLP))
Governing parties
Barbados Labour Party (BLP), holding all 30 elected seats
Last election
General (parliamentary), snap, 11 February 2026
Next election
General (parliamentary), due by 2031
Legislature
Parliament: House of Assembly (30 seats) and Senate (21 appointed members)
Legal system
English common law
Economy and finance
Population
282.6k (2025)
GDP
USD 8bn (2025)
GDP per person
USD 27,494 (2025)
Currency
Barbadian dollar (BBD), pegged to USD at 2:1
Central bank
Central Bank of Barbados
Credit rating
S&P B+ (stable) · Moody's B2 (stable) · Fitch B+ (positive) (as of October 2025)
Tourism is the main earner, alongside an international business and financial services sector built on a wide double tax treaty network, while high public debt is being reduced under successive IMF-supported reform programmes.
Bank
Foreign currency earning bank licence (Part IIIB)
Minimum capitalUSD 2m
TimelineNot published
AuthorityCentral Bank of Barbados (applications to the Minister under s. 41J)
s. 41M: stated or assigned capital of at least $4,000,000 if the bank accepts third party deposits, or $1,000,000 if it does not. The Central Bank may set another amount case by case.
Law
Financial Institutions Act, Cap. 324A, Part IIIB, ss. 41H to 41O, inserted by the Financial Institutions (Amendment) Act, 2018-51 (in force 1 January 2019)
Passporting
No.
Key requirements
Applicant must be an eligible company (objects limited to foreign currency earning banking business) or a qualified foreign currency earning bank (e.g. a bank licensed under the former international banking regime at 31 December 2018)
At least one director who is a CARICOM Member State citizen resident in Barbados
Business limited to receiving and using foreign currency (deposits, foreign securities, trust of foreign assets) and related services
Central Bank approval needed for mergers, major asset transfers, share transfers and capital reductions; prescribed capital adequacy ratio
Application signed by at least two directors, with confidential statements, business plan and three-year projections (CBB Part IIIB application form)
Minimum capital of $50,000; the Bank may require more based on size, risk and complexity
Law
National Payment System Act, 2021-1, ss. 9 to 11 (as amended by Act 2025-41); National Payment System Regulations (S.I. 2026 No. 46)
Fees
Application fee BBD 2,000; licence fee $20,000 for a payment institution and $1,000 per agent, payable before issue and annually by 1 January
Passporting
No.
Key requirements
Covers payment and e-money accounts, cash in and out, execution and acquiring of transactions, issuing payment instruments and e-money, payment initiation, and account or bill aggregation
Company incorporated under the Companies Act, Cap. 308, with fit and proper owners, directors and senior officers
Customer funds safeguarded in a trust or custodian account, with insurance or a comparable guarantee
Compliance with the CBB Corporate Governance Guideline
Cross-border transfer services need a separate MVTS licence under the FIA
2019 reform: the Financial Institutions (Amendment) Act 2018-51 came into force on 1 January 2019. It created Part IIIB of the Financial Institutions Act for foreign currency earning banks, under which banks licensed under the former international banking regime could be licensed as qualified foreign currency earning banks. It also created a licence for money or value transmission service providers under Part III. Trust, finance and merchant bank companies under Part III need stated capital of $2,000,000 (s. 29). The statutes use $, which this file reads as Barbados dollars. The Financial Institutions Fees Regulations 1998 predate Part IIIB, so bank fees are left null. Crypto: no dedicated virtual asset licensing statute was found on the CBB or FSC legislation pages. Fintech and crypto firms can test through the joint CBB and FSC Regulatory Sandbox. Insurance is a major sector, notably captive insurance, licensed by the FSC under the Insurance Act, Cap. 310. The Insurance Amendment Act 2025 is posted on the FSC site and was not analysed. Online gaming: no licensing regime found. EU tax list history from the Commission's timeline: Annex I from 6 October 2020, moved to Annex II on 22 February 2021, removed from Annex II on 14 February 2023. The FATF site returned HTTP 403, so the February 2024 removal date comes from recital 17 of Delegated Reg. (EU) 2025/1184 and the current status from official relays of the 19 June 2026 statement.
General information
About Barbados
Natural Earth boundaries. Map is indicative.
Status
Sovereign state
Capital
Bridgetown
Area
430 km²
Official languages
English
Time zone
UTC-04:00
Main exports
Tourism
International business and financial services
Rum and other spirits
Refined petroleum
Packaged medicines
Main export partners
United States
Jamaica
Trinidad and Tobago
Canada
Guyana
Sources for the country information(8)
Country information checked 9 October 2026. Licensing data updated 7 October 2026. Information only, not legal advice; requirements change. Regulatory notice.
