作者： admin

For countless consumers across Belize, running into arbitrary minimum purchase requirements or unexpected surcharges when paying with a credit or debit card has long been a persistent source of frustration. Now, the country’s top financial regulator is stepping up its long-running campaign to stamp out these controversial industry practices, framing them as harmful to consumers and counter to national goals for broader financial inclusion.

Kareem Michael, Governor of the Central Bank of Belize, explained that the issue has plagued shoppers for years, and he has even encountered the unfair practices firsthand during his own regular transactions. In one recent example, Michael shared that he attempted to purchase roughly $9 worth of goods at a local grocery store, only to be turned away when he tried to pay with his debit card because the store enforced a $15 minimum card purchase requirement, forcing him to pay with cash. When he returned to the same outlet for another sub-$15 purchase later, the store had adjusted its policy — but not to the benefit of customers: it instead added a mandatory $1 surcharge for processing debit card payments for small transactions.

Many merchants that impose these rules argue that minimum purchase thresholds and surcharges are necessary to offset the transaction processing fees they are required to pay to financial institutions. But regulators push back that these practices are fundamentally unfair to consumers and directly contradict the core mission of Belize’s financial system.

The Central Bank is now collaborating closely with the Belize Bankers Association and local credit unions to develop a permanent solution to the problem. Michael noted that discussions between stakeholders have been productive, with proposals ranging from strict outright bans on the practices to more nuanced frameworks designed to balance the needs of both merchants and consumers. The regulator is aiming to finalize a resolution in the near future.

Michael emphasized that the campaign against these unfair card practices is not an attempt to push Belize toward a fully cashless economy. Instead, it centers on protecting the most vulnerable members of society, who are disproportionately harmed by policies that disincentivize card use. When merchants impose extra costs or barriers to card payments, they push many people away from participating in the formal financial sector entirely, undermining years of work to expand access to affordable financial services across the country. Ending these abusive practices, Michael said, is a top priority for the regulator and its industry partners.

Scheduled publication date: April 21, 2026

A quiet but significant shift in retail banking policy has left thousands of customers across Belize grappling with unexpected new costs, as the nation’s two largest commercial lenders—Belize Bank and Atlantic Bank—have restructured their basic savings account offerings into new “Full Access” and “Essential” tiers that bear a striking resemblance to traditional checking accounts.

While the reclassification comes with one key customer benefit: looser withdrawal limits and more flexible ATM access, the trade-off has proven far more impactful for ordinary account holders. Under the new terms, all restructured savings accounts no longer generate any interest earnings, and new monthly maintenance fees and per-transaction charges are now applied to regular account activity.

For the large share of Belizean households that live paycheque to paycheque, these incremental fees add up quickly at a time when the country is already facing rising cost of living. The banks have defended the change, arguing that it aligns account structures with how the majority of customers actually use their savings accounts day-to-day. But many consumers have pushed back against the framing, questioning whether “full access” is nothing more than a rebranding for increased revenue for the banks.

When pressed for comment on the policy shift, Central Bank of Belize Governor Kareem Michael emphasized that the country’s top banking regulator played no role in approving or mandating the changes. “First thing I have to correct is that the Central Bank was not involved in that decision. There was no approval sought for Atlantic Bank or any other bank to have done that,” Michael stated in a press briefing.

He went on to clarify the scope of the Central Bank’s regulatory authority over commercial banking in Belize, noting that the regulator only has power to set caps and floors for lending rates and minimum floors for savings deposit interest rates. Roughly 18 to 24 months ago, the Central Bank launched a collaborative review of fee-based income practices at Belize’s commercial banks, a process that took months of negotiation to reach a compromise that satisfied both regulators and financial institutions. Michael acknowledged, however, that public frustration over growing bank fees has mounted amid broader inflation, pointing out that consumers are now facing the double blow of lost interest earnings on savings alongside rising everyday expenses.

Michael also confirmed that the move is not limited to one smaller institution, noting that the decision by Belize’s two largest banking players to restructure their accounts reveals key dynamics of the country’s domestic banking market. “Those two are the biggest banks,” he added, underscoring the widespread impact of the policy change across the nation’s consumer banking sector.

As it stands, no regulatory reversal of the changes is currently on the table, leaving customers to adjust to a new normal where their savings generate no passive income, and regular account activity comes with recurring out-of-pocket costs.

For more than a decade, customers shopping for farm-fresh goods at Belize City’s iconic Michael Finnegan Market could count on one constant: a stall near the second gate stocked with vegetables straight from the Little Belize farming community. That familiar routine has been upended in recent weeks, after a controversial policy dispute forced long-time wholesale vendor Herman Freisen to abandon his spot and relocate to a new facility, sending economic ripples from the city marketplace all the way out to rural farming households.

Freisen, a Mennonite wholesaler who has operated at the market for over 15 years, built his business around a consistent dual model: moving bulk product to smaller resellers on designated wholesale days (Tuesdays and Fridays), then selling directly to retail customers on Saturdays to clear remaining stock. That arrangement allowed him to keep prices low for everyday shoppers while delivering steady income to the farming families that supply his produce. But under new pressure from small retail vendors who say his Saturday retail sales undercut their own businesses, Freisen says he was told to end retail sales at the municipal market and ultimately forced to move.

“We weren’t even given a grace period to let our regular customers know we were leaving,” Freisen explained. “I asked for at least one more Saturday to inform people, and that request was denied. We had no choice but to pack up last weekend and move to our new location at Pound Yard Market, a privately run facility where there are no restrictions on mixing wholesale and retail sales. We can still offer fair, competitive prices there that match what we charged at Michael Finnegan, but we’ve already seen a sharp drop in foot traffic and sales as customers adjust to the new location.”

Freisen emphasizes that the harm from this disruption extends far beyond his own bottom line. Every decline in his sales translates directly to lower income for the small farming families in Little Belize that grow the vegetables he sells, putting unplanned financial strain on rural households that already operate on thin margins.

The Belize City Council, however, is pushing back against Freisen’s account, denying that any formal order to relocate or end retail sales was ever issued. Market manager Delroy Herrera says the conflict is the result of long-simmering tension between wholesale and small-scale retail vendors over day designations at the publicly run market, and that the council has not yet made any final binding decisions on the dispute.

Under existing municipal regulations laid out in Chapter 85 of the Belize City Council code, Tuesdays and Fridays are reserved exclusively for wholesale trade, while Saturdays are designated for open retail sales. Herrera explained that complaints have mounted from both sides for months: small retailers have been selling on wholesale days and forcing bulk vendors to cut prices, while wholesalers like Freisen that choose to sell on retail days are accused of undercutting smaller vendors who rely on Saturday walk-up traffic.

“After a meeting with vendors on April 15, there was a lot of informal discussion among vendors, but the council never issued any formal written or official order telling Mr. Freisen he couldn’t sell here,” Herrera noted. “The issue is that Mr. Freisen often skips Friday wholesale days to make off-site deliveries, and he wants to make up those sales by selling retail on Saturday. But Saturdays are set aside for small retail vendors who buy their stock wholesale on Fridays and sell directly to shoppers to earn their own living. The council is committed to balancing the needs of both large wholesalers and the small, independent vendors who come into the city from areas like Bomba to make a living. Right now, we’re still working through the problem, and no final decisions have been made.”

Councilor Evan Thompson echoed that position in comments to local media, confirming that the council has not issued any instructions blocking Freisen or any other vendor from selling at Michael Finnegan Market, calling any claims to the contrary inaccurate.

The dispute has left both Freisen and his network of farming suppliers in limbo, as the vendor adjusts to his new private market location and waits to see if a resolution can be reached that would allow him to return to his long-time spot at the municipal market.