How do people in Grenada pay online?
Cards lead electronic payments. Grenada is a member of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, whose central bank, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), oversees payments across its eight members. In a payments strategy paper of November 2022, the ECCB found that payments in the union rely heavily on cash, cards and cheques, and that the union lags behind high-income and upper-middle-income countries in electronic payments. Among non-cash instruments, payment cards are the most used, followed by cheques. Most cards are issued on the Visa and Mastercard networks, although some commercial banks and most credit unions issue proprietary ATM cards. Google Pay works for online and in-app payments in Grenada, while Apple Pay is not on Apple’s list of supported countries.
Transfers clear in real time. The Eastern Caribbean Automated Clearing House (ECACH), set up in 2011 by the ECCB and the commercial banks, processes electronic funds transfers in real time, and customers can start them from a phone or computer. Cheques are now cleared as digital images. The World Bank, using ITU data, puts internet use in Grenada at 70.2% of the population in 2024, and IMF data show 43.4 ATMs per 100,000 adults in 2024.
Instant payments are the next step. The ECCB ran a pilot of DCash, a digital Eastern Caribbean dollar, from March 2021 to January 2024. In February 2026 its Monetary Council suspended development of DCash 2.0 to prioritise a Fast Payment System, which will allow real-time electronic payments at any hour across the union, and a pilot of the CARICOM Payments and Settlement System, which will allow instant cross-border payments in local currencies.
What rules shape online payments in Grenada?
VAT is 15%. VAT applies to goods and services supplied in Grenada and to imports. Deloitte gives a standard rate of 15%, reduced rates of 10% in the tourism sector and 7.5% on electricity, and a 20% rate on sweetened drinks. Returns and payment are due by the 20th day of each month, and tax submissions must be filed on the online platform from 1 January 2026.
Digital services from abroad are next. The Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill 2026, published on 24 April 2026, requires non-resident suppliers of digital services to consumers in Grenada to register for VAT, with no registration threshold. KPMG reported that Parliament adopted it in May 2026, pending the Governor-General’s sign-off. It takes effect on a date the Minister sets by notice in the Gazette, with a six-month transition for non-resident digital service providers and electronic marketplaces. Grenadian VAT-registered businesses that buy digital services from abroad account for the VAT themselves under a reverse charge.
The currency is pegged and foreign exchange is open. July 2026 marked 50 years of the Eastern Caribbean dollar peg at EC$2.70 to US$1.00, and Deloitte notes that there are no limits on foreign exchange transactions.
Payment rules are being modernised. In March 2025 the ECCB published a Payment System and Services Bill to license and supervise payment service providers and to make fees and terms more transparent, and submitted it to member governments for passage. Since 15 October 2026 the ECCB’s Office of Financial Conduct accepts complaints from customers of licensed financial institutions about issues such as fees, charges and misleading information, after Grenada passed the Banking Act amendments that give it authority.
How would Omno route payments in Grenada?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In Grenada:
- Card pay-ins would be routed by BIN, so local debit cards and international credit cards each go to the provider set for them, with cascading to the next provider in the rule if one is unavailable or rejects the request.
- Currency rules could send XCD payments to providers with local acquiring and US dollar payments to international providers.
- Google Pay would appear in the hosted checkout for Android shoppers, with the underlying card routed by the same rules.
- Bank transfers could be offered through providers that support them, with the order pending until the provider confirms the payment.
Webhooks would report the final status of every payment, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for cards first. Cards are the most used non-cash payment, so a fast card form with saved cards matters more than any other method.
Plan for local ATM cards. Some banks and most credit unions issue proprietary ATM cards rather than Visa or Mastercard cards, so a bank transfer option helps customers without an international card.
Plan for VAT on digital services. If you sell streaming, software or other digital services to consumers in Grenada, prepare to register once the Minister sets the start date, using the six-month transition.
Plan for instant payments. The ECCB is building a Fast Payment System for the whole union, so watch which providers connect to it.