Bowen and Bowen Calls for Safer Payment Systems After Employee Attack

Bowen and Bowen Limited is calling for major improvements to Belize’s financial and payment systems, saying businesses need safer and more efficient ways to collect and process customer payments. The company says electronic payments should be able to connect automatically with businesses’ accounting systems. Such integration would eliminate the need for employees to manually identify and reconcile payments, while reducing the volume of cash carried by delivery and sales teams.  The call follows a robbery at Hope Creek Supermarket in which two Bowen and Bowen employees were assaulted and required medical attention. Both employees are recovering, and the company says no cash was stolen.

According to Bowen and Bowen, the incident highlights the dangers faced by workers and businesses that continue to transport significant amounts of cash along Belize’s roads. The company argues that broader access to integrated electronic payment options would make employees less attractive targets and reduce opportunities for similar attacks.  Bowen and Bowen is urging the Central Bank of Belize, commercial banks, payment providers and the wider business community to work together to modernize the country’s payment infrastructure. It says violent crime should not be accepted as a normal cost of doing business.  The company is also offering a five-thousand-dollar reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person or persons responsible for the Hope Creek attack.