By Horace Palacio: If Belize truly wants entrepreneurs to succeed, then we must be honest about one of the biggest barriers in their way. The banking system. It is expensive, outdated, and designed to protect banks first, not to help Belizeans build businesses.
Start with interest rates. In Belize, business loans often come with interest rates in the double digits. For small entrepreneurs, rates of 10 to 15 percent are common, and sometimes higher depending on “risk.” Credit cards are even worse, with interest rates that can climb to 25 or even 30 percent annually. That is not development finance. That is survival finance. At those rates, a young business spends more time paying interest than reinvesting in growth.
Then come the fees. Monthly account maintenance fees. Transaction fees. Minimum balance penalties. Overdraft charges that hit instantly and repeatedly. Swipe fees. Foreign transaction fees. These costs add up quietly but relentlessly. For a small business operating on tight margins, bank fees can feel like a tax on trying.
Now look at how outdated the system is. No bank in Belize offers true international debit cards that work seamlessly online the way our neighbors have had for decades. Want to pay for software, advertising, cloud services, or global tools that modern businesses rely on. Too bad. The system pushes you toward a credit card instead. Why. Because that is where banks make their real money. High interest. Annual fees. Penalties.
Even more telling is what we still do not have. No digital debit cards. No virtual cards. No modern app based controls. No easy integration with global payment platforms. In a world where entrepreneurs operate online, Belize’s banking system still behaves like the internet is optional.
This matters more than people realize. Entrepreneurs today do not just need loans. They need fast payments, global access, digital tools, and affordable credit. When banks make it difficult to transact internationally, they lock Belizean businesses out of the global economy. When they force credit cards instead of offering modern debit solutions, they increase debt instead of enabling cash flow.
Compare this with countries that encourage entrepreneurship. In places like Singapore and the UAE, interest rates are lower, digital banking is standard, and global payments are easy. Entrepreneurs can open accounts quickly, access international markets, and manage finances digitally. The system is built to help businesses move fast. Belize’s system is built to slow them down.
Banks will say they must be conservative. That risk is high. That regulation is strict. But a banking system that avoids all risk avoids growth. The purpose of finance is not just to protect money. It is to deploy it productively. When banks only lend cheaply to governments and wealthy asset holders while charging entrepreneurs premium rates and fees, the economy becomes stagnant.
The result is predictable. Belizeans with ambition either stay small, operate informally, or leave the country entirely. Innovation suffers. Job creation slows. And we wonder why opportunity feels limited.
This is not a call for reckless lending. It is a call for modernization. Lower interest rates for productive businesses. Fairer fee structures. International debit access. Digital cards. Banking that understands how modern entrepreneurs actually operate.
If Belize wants a strong private sector, it must stop strangling it with expensive, outdated banking. Capital should be a bridge to opportunity, not a barrier. Until that changes, entrepreneurship in Belize will continue to struggle, not because of lack of ideas, but because the system makes success unnecessarily hard.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author, Horace Palacio, and do not necessarily reflect the views or editorial stance of Breaking Belize News.
The post Belize’s banking system is choking entrepreneurship and the fees are part of the problem appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Horace Palacio: If Belize truly wants entrepreneurs to succeed, then we must be honest about one of the biggest barriers in their way. The banking system. It is expensive, outdated, and designed to protect banks first, not to help Belizeans build businesses. Start with interest rates. In Belize, business loans often come with interest
The post Belize’s banking system is choking entrepreneurship and the fees are part of the problem appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
