FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert says his ministry will investigate the Hyatt Regency Trinidad’s brief decision to halt accepting Trinidad and Tobago dollars for cash payments.
The announcement was made via Imbert’s social media account on Monday. He also stated that the ministry does not oversee the hotel’s operations.
The controversy erupted after Hyatt Regency Trinidad posted on its official Facebook page that, starting November 1, it would only accept US dollars, British pounds, and Euros for cash transactions, while major credit and debit cards would remain in use. This decision was met with widespread backlash, prompting the hotel to delete the post.
Michael Hooper, the hotel’s general manager, later issued a public apology, acknowledging that the announcement was premature and contained inaccuracies. He confirmed that there would be no changes to the current payment process at the hotel.
He said, “A message regarding cashless payment options at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad hotel was prematurely distributed with inaccurate information. At this time, we will not be implementing any changes to our payment process. We wish to apologise for any confusion or inconvenience caused.”
The decision to exclude the Trinidad and Tobago dollar was also criticised as potentially illegal, given that the Central Bank Act and the Exchange Control Act mandate it as the country’s legal tender. The Ministry of Finance’s investigation will focus on this aspect of the incident.
