Cash Plus investors, or at least some of the group whose returns are remitted to their bank accounts, are experiencing delays in monthly payments.

But on Wednesday, a company executive said the lag was linked to tardiness by the banks and not related to any cash flow difficulties by the investment club.

"Because of the clearing periods in the banks, the payments are not facilitated quickly," said Cash Plus vice-president Chris Golbourne. "There is this wait period."

The scheme's club members, however, say that this was not always the case.

The Financial Gleaner on November 9 visited the company's Premier Plaza office which was opened October 19 as a dedicated office for disbursements and found more than two dozen irritated investors whose payments were late.

Routinely delayed

Individuals reported that their remittances which would normally be in their accounts on the third and fifth day of the month were now routinely delayed by four to six days.

Later in the day the company representatives at the office announced that the fault was Cash Plus' but advised that the funds had been sent to the banks for distribution. Checks with several investors late Friday confirmed that payments had landed.

One 'new investor' who said his returns due monthly on the 8th, also said they have never been remitted on time. His payment this month reached his account Wednesday, the 14th.

Cash Plus, meantime, has said it plans to enter the sector itself, but in the Dominican Republic where it has bought into a 'banking institution'.

"We have interest in it," said Golbourne, adding that it was a controlling stake, but saying the details of that investment would be released at the same time as its financials.

Golbourne, acknowledging that there was widespread concern among investors about timely remittances, said it was one of the reasons for last weekend's hastily convened meeting at the National Indoor Sports Centre. The other, he said, was to allay fears that Cash Plus' relationship with its bankers was faltering.

"That's why we made a statement to clients that it has been worked out," he explained.

By that the Cash Plus executive was referring to an announcement that the company was making arrangements for its members to be issued with an 'international card' that would allow them another means of accessing their funds.

Golbourne claimed that 20,000 persons had showed up for the weekend meeting, but the Indoor Centre said the crowd was no bigger than 4,000, and that the facility's capacity was no more than 5,000 to 6,000. Golbourne, who said he was emcee at the meeting, later said he might have been wrong about the numbers.

Choice of returns

Essentially, the new payment/card system under consideration would sidestep the local banks, but the choice of how their returns are paid will be left up to individual investors.

Golbourne said that deal remains under negotiation and its details would not be revealed ahead of Cash Plus' audited financial statements due out month end or soon thereafter.

He said, however, that a regional financial institution had approached the company with the idea of issuing a Visa-branded card to members - the company lays claim to more than a 40,000 investor base - that would give them access to funds in an overseas account or accounts to be held in the name of Cash Plus.

The system is being tested, with a few members already issued with the card under a pilot.

The card will eventually be available to all for subscription, but still to be decided is whether members would be charged a fee to acquire it.

Golbourne said the company's 'banking institution' in Dominica Republic was not the company in question.

The investment scheme, whose approximately 80 business operations span several regional countries and industries, has said it will publish the accounts to quell speculation about its financial health.

"We are profitable," Golbourne said on Wednesday.

The majority of the company's shipping and distribution business is overseas, he said.

business@gleanerjm.com

Source: Financial Gleaner, Friday, November 16, 2007