WILLEMSTAD - Minister Kenneth Gijsbertha of Finance is working on a bill proposal that will require all commercial banks to accept any citizen who wants to open a bank account.

With this bill he wants to prevent riferos (lottery offices) from being rejected by any bank, because they are seen as a risk.

Gijsbertha explains that the lottery in Curaçao is not illegal and that it should therefore not be treated as such. The ministry is working on this process in collaboration with Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS).

In 2019 the relationship between Rifero's and the MCB Bank was terminated, the lottery business protested this. After that, the PSB bank seemed to be an alternative, but they too eventually decided against that option.