Paying Caribbean Teams: Local ACH (NCB, Scotiabank, Republic Bank, RBC, Banco Popular) vs. USD Wires

The payment rails in each market

Every major Caribbean market has a domestic clearing system for low-value bulk payments (ACH) and a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) for large, urgent transfers. Payroll belongs on the ACH: one file from the employer's or provider's local account credits every employee, including those at other local banks.

In Jamaica the Bank of Jamaica oversees the JamClear systems for RTGS and ACH. In the Dominican Republic, ACH Dominicana handles bulk interbank credits alongside the central bank's LBTR real-time system. Trinidad and Tobago runs a domestic ACH used for salaries. Puerto Rico uses the US ACH network and Fedwire. Confirm cut-off times, file formats and same-day options directly with your bank, as they change.

Local ACH vs individual USD wires

Foreign employers and some global EORs pay Caribbean staff by individual USD wire because it avoids opening a local account. The trade-offs are significant:

• Cost per payment. A bulk ACH file costs a small per-item fee. An international wire carries a sending fee, often intermediary bank charges, and a receiving fee at the employee's bank.
• Timing. Local ACH credits on a predictable cycle. International wires pass through correspondent banks and compliance screening and can arrive days late, often with no warning.
• Who carries FX. A USD credit to a JMD or TTD account is converted at the receiving bank's rate, so each employee loses a spread and receives a variable local amount. Their statutory deductions were calculated in local currency, so the payslip and the bank credit no longer match.
• Compliance. Payroll statutory remittances (NIS, PAYE, NHT, TSS) are paid in local currency in-country anyway, so a local account is needed regardless.

USD salaries can make sense for Cayman, Bermuda, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico, where currencies are pegged or USD is the legal currency, and for senior staff with USD accounts by choice. For JMD, TTD, GYD and DOP payrolls, local ACH is the default.

Worked example: FX and wire cost on a Jamaica payroll

A 25-person Kingston support team has a monthly net payroll of JMD 9,000,000. We compare an EOR converting at a 2.5% spread with your own entity converting once at a negotiated spread, using the benchmark rate of JMD 158. The negotiated 0.75% spread and the USD 40 wire fee are assumptions for illustration; get your own quotes.

The saving from Option B does not include the entity's own running costs, so test it with the entity vs EOR break-even calculator. If you stay on an EOR, the lever is the FX margin: ask the provider to quote it, or to accept funding in JMD.

Setting up local payroll disbursement: phases and owners

1. Account opening (weeks 1-8, owner: Finance). Open a local-currency operating account in the employing entity's name. Expect full KYC on directors and beneficial owners; foreign-owned companies typically take longer, so start early.
2. Online banking and bulk payments (weeks 4-8, owner: Finance with the bank). Enrol in the bank's corporate platform, set dual authorisation and get the bulk payroll file specification.
3. FX arrangement (weeks 4-8, owner: Treasury). Agree how USD will be converted: spot at the bank, a negotiated margin, or a third-party FX provider paying into the local account. Get the margin in writing.
4. Employee bank data (week 6-8, owner: Payroll). Collect account details with a verification step, such as a signed form or a small test credit.
5. Test payroll (week 8, owner: Payroll). Send a small test file, then a full parallel run.
6. Calendar (ongoing, owner: Payroll). Fund at least three business days before pay date, submit the ACH file before the bank's cut-off, and remit statutory deductions by the local deadline, such as the 14th in Jamaica for the S01 or the 15th in Trinidad.

Risks and controls

Payroll disbursement is a frequent target for fraud and a frequent source of late pay.

Payroll disbursement checklist

1. Local-currency account open in the employing entity's name, or confirmed at the EOR.
2. Bulk ACH payments enabled with dual authorisation.
3. FX reference rate and margin agreed in writing.
4. Employee bank details collected and verified.
5. Bank change requests verified through a second channel.
6. Funding deadline set at least three business days before pay date.
7. Local bank holidays loaded for every country.
8. Statutory remittance deadlines diarised for each country.
9. Quarterly review of FX cost against the central bank rate on each funding date.

Related: Trinidad TTD funding and FX and Jamaica S01 and S02 filing.