Crypto on the Family Islands: Long Island, Inagua and beyond

Between 2014 and 2021, bank branches in Grand Bahama and the Family Islands fell from 38 to 23, according to the Central Bank Governor. Long Island has had no confirmed commercial bank since 2018, and Inagua’s Bank of The Bahamas branch was reported closed for staff shortages in April 2025. There is no crypto ATM on any Bahamian island. Here crypto is an app on your phone or nothing, so connectivity, card access and backups are the whole story.

Long Island: banks gone, signal patchy

Long Island runs about 80 miles along the Tropic of Cancer, 165 miles southeast of Nassau. Its 2,718 people live mainly from fishing, farming and Stella Maris tourism; Dean’s Blue Hole near Clarence Town draws divers. Scotiabank closed its Stella Maris branch in 2015 and folded its Buckley’s service centre into Nassau from late 2020. RBC left on 13 April 2018. Beforehand, MP Adrian Gibson warned of no full-service bank, and a businessman described one bank open two days a week that took no cash deposits.

When Scotiabank announced its 2020 consolidation, the MP raised a point that matters for crypto too: poor internet in parts of Long Island would make digital financial services hard to use. The island still adopted Sand DollarSand Dollar The Central Bank’s digital version of the Bahamian dollar, launched in October 2020. It is not a cryptocurrency and cannot be swapped for crypto directly. Glossary. The 2023 Long Island Regatta took it through SunCash, and the Central Bank named Bayside Service Station in Cartwrights and Hillside Food Supply in Salt Pond as merchants in September 2023.

Inagua: a salt town near Cuba

Great Inagua is the southernmost and second-largest Bahamian island, about 55 miles from Cuba. Nearly all of its 831 people live in Matthew Town. Morton Salt produces about one million tonnes of sea salt a year and was the largest employer, at roughly 60% of the working population in 2008. The island is also home to more than 80,000 West Indian flamingos. Bank of The Bahamas’ Matthew Town branch was “temporarily closed due to staff shortages” in April 2025, and we could not confirm a reopening. We found no Inagua Sand Dollar merchants in the Central Bank’s 2023 updates.

Cat Island, Acklins and the other islands

We could not verify current bank or ATM presence for Cat Island, Acklins or the other smaller islands for this guide, so we will not guess. SunCash has said its network reaches every island with more than 50 people once its Acklins equipment is installed; we could not confirm where its agents are. Island Pay listed Long Island and Inagua in a 2025 kiosk and ATM plan, also unconfirmed.

Starlink and connectivity

URCA licensed Starlink Services Bahamas on 15 February 2023 for fixed-location broadband only, with no voice or mobile service. For a household on Long Island or Inagua, a fixed dish makes the heavy jobs reliable: uploading ID for KYCKYC “Know your customer”: the ID checks (passport or driver’s licence, a selfie, proof of address) that regulated platforms must run before you can trade. Glossary, approving a card purchase, or moving coins to your own wallet.

Offline-ready security

Set up crypto so it survives a lost phone, a storm or days without signal:

• Use an authenticator app for login codes. It works without signal; SMS codes do not.
• Print or write your exchange’s backup codes and keep them with your ID documents.
• Store your seed phraseSeed phrase A list of 12 or 24 words that can restore your wallet on any device. Whoever has these words owns the coins, so never type them into a website. Glossary on paper or metal in a waterproof container, never only as a phone photo.
• For savings, a hardware walletHardware wallet A small USB or Bluetooth device that stores your keys offline and signs transactions without exposing them. Glossary keeps keys offline. Our wallet guide covers storm-proof backups and import duty.

Keeping cards working when you travel to Nassau

With no branch at home, a trip to Nassau is your chance to fix banking. Replace any card close to expiry, update the phone number your bank uses for security codes, and ask whether you can send international wires through online banking. Tell your bank you plan to buy from an overseas exchange, because an unexpected foreign transaction is a common reason for a fraud block. Our card guide explains declines and each bank’s foreign card fee, and the Nassau guide lists where to find the banks.

Step plan for islands with no branch

1. 01

   Get your connection sorted

   Use the strongest link you have, ideally fixed broadband, for verification and first purchases.

2. 02

   Make your next Nassau trip count

   Fresh card, current phone number, online wires on.

3. 03

   Buy a small amount first

   B$20 to B$50 confirms your card works. Expect your bank’s foreign card fee plus 1.5% stamp duty.

4. 04

   Secure it offline

   Authenticator app, written backup codes and a seed phrase backup stored away from water.

5. 05

   Plan how money comes back

   Sell to a card or wire US dollars to your bank; no stamp duty applies on the way in. See how to sell crypto or P2P safety.

Exuma, Long Island’s neighbour to the northwest, has RBC and a Fidelity service branch; see our George Town guide, or compare every island on the island map.

Keep exploring

George Town, Exuma Exuma hosted the first Sand Dollar pilot in 2019. How George Town residents and visiting yachts … Read guide Andros With reduced bank hours and patchy branches, Andros residents rely on mobile routes. How to buy,… Read guide Sand Dollar & crypto Tier limits, wallet providers and why there is no direct Sand Dollar-to-Bitcoin swap. Read guide Crypto wallets Self-custody made simple, including customs duty and storm-proof backups. Read guide