PHILIPSBURG--Concerns have been raised about the payment machine at the Civil Registry Department (Census Office), reportedly processing payments only in US dollars instead of the country’s official currency, the Caribbean guilder (XCG).
The practice resulted in customers paying more than the listed fees when using guilder-linked bank cards, due to currency conversion costs. It could not be ascertained how long this has been the case. Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs is expected to issue a statement on the matter later this week
According to complaints received by “The Daily Herald”, customers paying with guilder-linked bank cards are being charged more than the officially listed fees after conversion. In one reported case, the total cost of multiple services increased by several percentage points once processed through the US dollar-only payment machine.
One affected client said that staff at the department had explained that the payment machine processes transactions exclusively in US dollars, while the client only had a guilder-linked bank card available to pay for the service. Similar issues have reportedly occurred at at least one other government department.
While some customers say the additional amount charged may appear relatively small, they argue that government offices should not rely solely on foreign-currency payment systems. One client expressed concern that the practice undermines the use of the Caribbean guilder, which is the country’s official legal tender.
Authorities are being urged to clarify why the payment system does not support transactions in guilders and whether there are plans to update payment machines to allow customers to pay directly in the official currency.
