Square, Mastercard and the Falkland Islands government announced a new partnership that will bring card and digital payments to the Falkland Islands.

Prior to the partnership, the Islands' small and medium sized businesses have been cash-only, according to a press release. Banking and compliance issues made it difficult, or sometimes impossible, for small businesses to sign up for merchant accounts to accept cards and get funds settled into their bank accounts. In addition, card payment machines were difficult to install and maintain in the remote location. Additionally, the archipelago has only one ATM and one bank branch.

Mastercard connected the Falkland Islands government to Square, and the three organizations formed a partnership to solve the challenges that made taking cards difficult for the community. Sellers were then given access to the bank accounts needed for payments settlement and they were onboarded to Square and provided mobile Square Readers to take payments and to integrate the latest Mastercard technology.

"We have been a cash-heavy society for many years," Tim Waggott, financial secretary for the Falkland Islands government, said in the release. "But with increasing visitor numbers, we knew we needed to help our local businesses to make the shift to card payments. With the coronavirus pandemic it's clearly an uncertain time for our business community, but they are resilient and used this time to get set up for the future. When the tourist trade returns, it'll be more important than ever that we can give everyone safe and convenient ways to pay. This is a huge step forward which will ensure that our industry is well-positioned to meet future demand and that Falkland Islands businesses are more financially empowered to expand."