The Guatemalan company G & T Continental has submitted an application to the Superintendent of Banks to change its current microfinance license to a general banking license.
From a statement issued by the Superintendency of Banks in Panama:
In compliance with Article 51 of the Banking Law No. 3-2001 and Agreement. amended by the Agreement No. 2-2006, we report:
Banks say they are not investing in the technology required to implement electronic signatures for digital processes due to the small amount of use by users.
Although the use of electronic signatures for banking transactions is something which is very common in most countries of the world, there is still some reluctance by people in Panama to use it, leading banks to stop making the necessary investments to implement the system.
It is expected that public and private banks will start to distribute the first digital certificates in March 2009.
These certificates are a part of the digital signing process which includes the creation of a complex system in which digital signatures will have the same validity as physical signature.
Carlos Melegatti, from the BCCR, and Oscar Solis, from the Ministry of Science and Technology (Micit), pointed out that the banks are very interested in implementing the digital signatures in order to increase security fro Internet transactions.