Dear Editor,

A system that’s failing everyone:

“Why are we forced to use expensive international services when we live on a tiny island?” This question, posted by a frustrated business owner on social media, sums up the challenges faced by many in St. Maarten. The payment system, rather than promoting growth, is a limiting factor.

Every card swipe comes with an invisible cost. Businesses are hit with high transaction fees they can’t control, and consumers ultimately pay the price through higher costs at checkout. Whether you’re buying groceries or paying for services, these fees are a burden in an already expensive economy.

The issue gets more complicated when you realize that even local payments are often routed through international networks like Visa and Mastercard, which charge fees of up to 4% per transaction. While cross-border transactions justify higher fees, it’s hard to understand why payments that stay on the island are still subject to international charges. For small businesses with razor-thin margins, these fees eat into profits, forcing some to set minimum purchase amounts for card payments or even stop accepting cards altogether.

The St. Maarten Bankers Association and the Ministry of Finance have labeled minimum purchase amounts as policy violations. But can we really blame merchants? It’s complicated. Some businesses are left with no choice but to pass those costs onto consumers, while others may see an opportunity to profit. And for families already struggling to make ends meet, every extra charge feels like a punishment for simply trying to live in a modern economy.

Recently, the National Payment Council (NPC) and the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) announced plans to modernize St. Maarten’s payment system. They’ve talked about introducing instant payment technologies and fintech solutions that would lower transaction costs.

Sounds promising, right? But here’s the catch: there’s no clear timeline. The NPC hinted that some progress might come in 2025, but businesses and consumers need relief now, not years from now. And let’s be honest – we’ve seen this play out before:

* In Curaçao, the transition to Visa and Mastercard was supposed to improve security but ended up increasing costs for businesses.

* In Barbados, moving to international payment networks made online transactions easier but left small businesses struggling with higher fees.

If we don’t act quickly, St. Maarten could follow the same path – modernizing at the expense of the people.

What happened to SEN?

In June 2023, the Ministry of Finance partnered with CX Pay to launch the SEN Payment App, a local e#wallet that aimed to reduce transaction fees and provide a digital payment solution for both the banked and unbanked communities.

The app was beta-launched with great fanfare in October 2023 at the government building, where the Ministry of Finance hosted an onboarding session to familiarize citizens with the platform. But since then, it’s gone silent – a ghost project with no updates or progress reports. Was this another initiative that lost momentum after two elections? Continuity has always been a challenge in St. Maarten’s government.

But here’s the thing: the idea behind SEN was sound. A local e-wallet could have been a game changer, offering small businesses and consumers a low cost alternative to traditional banking. Sadly, it became yet another missed opportunity, hindered by a lack of proper follow-through and accountability.

What locals are fed up with

Scrolling through Facebook, the frustrations are clear: “Why do banks block my card when I try to shop online?” “Why does accessing my own money feel like rocket science?” These questions reflect a growing distrust in the local banking system. People are turning to U.S. accounts and international platforms like Wise and Revolut, bypassing local banks entirely. That’s money leaving St. Maarten’s economy – money that could be helping the country grow.

Without immediate reforms, small businesses will continue to struggle, and consumers will keep paying the price. Action is needed now to keep money circulating within St. Maarten’s economy.

Want change? Here’s where to start:

1️. Cap fees immediately

Introduce a temporary cap on transaction fees between 1.5% and 2%, a range aligned with global best practices. The European Union caps credit card fees at 0.3% and debit card fees at 0.2% under the Interchange Fee Regulation. While St. Maarten’s banking landscape differs, a reasonable cap would ensure banks cover their costs without overburdening businesses and consumers. No one expects banks to operate at a loss, but it’s unclear how much of these fees are needed for costs versus profit. A cap would offer immediate relief while the NPC works on sustainable, long-term reforms.

2️. Support small businesses

Help small businesses adopt modern payment systems by offering tax breaks or subsidies. These programs have worked in other Caribbean countries, easing financial burdens while increasing digital adoption.

3️. Relaunch SEN with accountability

The SEN app had the potential to lower transaction costs and promote financial inclusion. However, it stalled due to lack of follow-through. Reviving the app – this time with proper oversight, a clear roadmap, and private sector support – could provide a low-cost, local e-wallet solution that benefits both the banked and unbanked populations.

4. Increase transparency

The lack of clear, published fee structures creates distrust between banks, businesses, and consumers. Requiring banks and payment processors to disclose all fees and charges in simple terms would help rebuild trust and accountability.

The bottom line: Stop talking. Start building.

We’ve heard the promises. We’ve seen the ideas. But people can’t pay their bills with empty words. The solutions are already out there – discussed in meetings, highlighted in reports, and echoed across social media. Now is the time for action. St. Maarten must decide: build a payment system that serves the people, or keep forcing them to find workarounds.. An economy can’t thrive when its foundation is broken.

Angelique Remy-Chittick

Financial Strategist and Consultant

Financial.ish

Dear Editor,

In the paper of November 28, 2024, on page one, I saw the seven pictures of the Academy students who topped Caribbean at CXC exams, etc.

On page 25 of the same paper I see Trump’s Cabinet 2.0. There are 29 pictures with names and portfolios of the 31 cabinet members; there are two empty spaces with intended portfolios and Donald Trump is in the middle of the layout. On several occasions I have hinted to have the same thing done of our Members of Parliament and Ministers of government, so that the people can know who our leaders are. I expected that to be the norm. The police take the blame for a lot of things because everybody knows the police and what the police should do and cannot do. Should not it be the same for our people in government?

What I know is that unless one of them wants to let the public know about something which according to them is spectacular, they hide behind the illegal black tint of the people’s vehicles or pretend to be busy on the cell phones. Can I via this media petition you to make it possible that the people can get a layout of the pictures of the members Parliament and the Ministers of government and their portfolios in order that we can know who our leaders in government? I am sure that one mention the name Russell Simmons a thousand times to Donald Trump he will ask, who is that.

However a more pressing question that I have, is who is there on St. Maarten mature enough and with influence to convince our motor-bikers that what they are doing is not good for anybody. Anytime there is an accident with a motorbike it is the people on the motorbike who get hurt. Not the motorbike, not the car, not the wall, not the street light. Only the people on the bike.

Russell A. Simmons

Dear Editor,

In August 1965, I had the privilege to get a six-year contract as a teacher in St. Maarten (Dutch West Indies).

In a musical sense it became a worthwhile experience in which I could use my love for music in an unexpected way. I happen to play the clarinet. Back then, St. Maarten was a small island community with a mostly indigenous and mixed Caribbean population. It had about 8,000 inhabitants whose mother tongue was a kind of Caribbean English.

I had travelled with my wife by steam ship, which was a freighter with a modest passenger accommodation. It took about six weeks to sail from Amsterdam to St. Maarten and the ship docked at almost all the Caribbean islands.

When we reached St. Maarten my luggage and crated furniture was put on the quay and the Chief Engineer asked me if I could use an empty oil barrel. Little was I to know how that drum became my passport to music in SXM.

I had some knowledge about the steel band culture that had come from Trinidad and which was all the rage on St. Maarten. On the quay a truck, or rather a lorry, was awaiting me and the driver, Mr. Chester York, came up to me and said: “Meneer, is that drum yours?” I hate to tell a lie and so I told him: “Yes. It is.” The guy’s demeanour changed completely. He became overjoyed and explained to me with a mixture of pride and excitement that he was from the steel band of the York family and that he needed the drum for the bass player. Since steel drums were hard to come by, he asked me if he could buy it. I told him to just take it and help me instead with my luggage and crated furniture. He did all that and when I told him that I had an interest in music, he became my first friend in St Maarten.

Coincidently it so happened that a Royal Visit to St. Maarten was imminent, and he invited me over to his ensemble to help the group out with the Dutch Anthem, the Wilhelmus.

Image what happened. I went to their rehearsal spot in the dark with one streetlight in Middle Region and the budding moon “to shed some light” on our efforts.

There were about six guys with different sized steelpans. There was a lead pan, two alto pans, a tenor pan and four bass pans. The tones were produced from raised tone circles on the flat upper part of the drum and each player used two self-made mallets. A small hammer was used to fine-tune the circles. The mallets were made of branches from a tree – nothing sophisticated – and their ends were wound with thick postal elastics. To hold a long tone one had to play drum rolls with the mallets on the tone circles. The two alto pans could play tremolos while holding intervals.

I noticed that they all played the melody, and I suggested: “Why not make it into a four-part-harmony piece?” But in those days, there were no keyboards! So I had to play it for them on my clarinet.

The melody was no problem and I asked the tenor pan to double the melody one octave lower. This makes the sound more beautiful in open air (al fresco) conditions. The only problem in this voicing is the intonation. Then I played the bass part from memory on my clarinet and the bass man, a giantlike Caribbean guy, wielded his mallets graciously and also produced his part the first time around.

I then played the second part on my clarinet and gave the two notes for the alto pans needed to hold, phrase by phrase, and the guys copied it faultlessly in one go. They tried it together and suddenly one of the guys cried in his enthusiasm: “I hear it; I hear it.”

What struck me was that none of the players played loudly as they only concentrated on the harmonies. In their perception I was a wizard and to my amazement we were making beautiful music together under the palm trees in the soft and gentle moonlit night of St. Maarten. People gathered around us to enjoy the tunes of our ensemble. This is making music “pur sang”. That night, I found music in Middle Region, in the middle part of Sint Maarten.

Later the players told me: “We does mostly play 3-part harmony melody, 2nd part and a bass part. The 3rd part is hard to find.” Wasn’t it Bach who quoted to have said: “When you play the 3rd part then you are in the middle of the music?” Anyways, my musical fame was set in St. Maarten!

Hein van Maarschalkerwaart

Artist name Art Marshall

Dear Editor,

It is not my style to respond to matters that I consider childish, nor do I want to waste a lot of time with politicians who are living in denial. There are two reasons why I’m addressing this matter. First, I know that whatever is done in the dark will seep through the light, whether we want it to or not. Second, there are times when some petty issues need to be addressed, just to expose the truth a little bit further.

A little over a month ago, a couple of friends sent me two very short videos of MP Ludmila de Weever expressing her thoughts that I’m obsessed with her (whatever that means). While watching the videos, I felt sorry for this professed politician, who thought that she was doing something good, but in turn has done more harm to her reputation, because this behaviour is the exact replicate of a child who is at the primary level.

MP De Weever, you know what I have learnt about people by observing them over the years? When someone is challenged and he or she cannot debate the matter because the reasoning is baseless, the defender becomes uncomfortable – uneasy, because he or she has been exposed, and this makes the individual vulnerable. So, the best course of action is for him or her to counteract the awareness that has revealed his or her true character.

MP Ludmila de Weever, I will address this matter from a professional and a personal perspective. First of all, you are a public figure; one who consistently states that when you make decisions, you make them in the best interest of the people. So, be honest with the people for once, MP De Weever. What decisions have you made, that have benefited the population during your tenure as a minister, and now as a Member of Parliament?

A politician who truly represents the people never displays any form of being thin-skinned nor does he or she vote against his or her party out of malice. MP Ludmila de Weever, can you stand at a mike and face the population, and tell us that you have not done everything that I have accused of? When you are done, depending on which route you choose to take, would your conscience be in sync with your choice?

You know what is bothering you right now, MP de Weever, you are backed in a corner because I have exposed the real you. Why don’t you tell the same people who you make the best decisions for, what you and the opposition plan to do after the budget has been approved? After all, you will be making the best decision for the people.

MP, there are some principles that are very dear to my heart. Two of them are: I do not damned the bridge that I crossed nor do I practice lying on others. You know what is very strange; you are a collector of my articles, because you found them to be very fascinating, until they were directed at you. Ask yourself these two questions: What was my purpose for writing those articles about you and do they have merit?

It’s a good thing that I have fans that look out for me because I received another video with your party leader, Melissa Gumbs, in an interview on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. So, I also have the same questions for her, because she too, is of the opinion that I am obsessed with you. Ha! The implication is so absurd. Both of you cannot imagine the adverse comments that the community has made about this absurdity.

It is so sad to see someone who was just sworn into the Executive branch stoop to that level of pettiness. And then the issue of the photo with MP Irion and MP Roseburg came up. Only now the situation became more laughable, because you and your party leader need to ask MP Irion who he considers to be the two weakest links in parliament and his strategies to capture them?

More appalling is that this is the same party leader who can’t wait for my articles to appear in the newspaper to distribute them in her chat. But now that the messages hit home, the articles are a problem. How hypocritical and naïve! Truly, birds of a feather do flock together! MP, neither you nor your party leader can stop me from writing. I will call out all of you politicians, whenever it is necessary.

From a personal perspective: MP Ludmila de Weever, there is nothing that you have that I desire. I was raised a privileged child, just like you. I never knew what it was to be hungry or to go bare-footed, unless I chose to. The only things that I did not grow up with are these smart devices that appeared just the other day. So, keep your notion of obsession to yourself, because the wider community does not share the same view.

Joslyn Morton