Imagine this, you're in Thailand and want to buy coffee from a roadside stand. You scan a QR code with PromptPay on your phone and the seller is instantly paid in their currency.

Later, you open your Grab app – like Uber, Foodpanda and Western Union combined – to order a ride, dinner or even pay your utility bill.

Need to shop? You visit Lazada or Shopee, massive e-commerce platforms where you can buy anything and have it delivered across countries within days.

This is daily life in ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). This is the power of digital regional integration.

Meanwhile, in Caricom, sending money between islands can take days, cost heavy fees and online shopping often means importing from the US, not regionally. The gap is staggering.

ASEAN’s success isn’t an accident. It’s because the region chose a shared digital future and built the systems to make it real.

[caption id="attachment_1152571" align="alignnone" width="532"] In Thailand and other ASEAN territories visitors can scan a QR code and pay instantly in the local currency. -[/caption]

If Caricom continues as we are, we risk falling further behind at a time when digital economies are no longer optional – they are survival.

How ASEAN built a digital ecosystem that works

ASEAN had a plan – the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 and ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025.

Here’s what they executed – and what Caricom must grasp:

· Seamless payments with PromptPay: In ASEAN, a visitor in Malaysia can scan a QR code and pay instantly in their local currency.

Thanks to the Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC) initiative, payments are fast, cheap and bypass reliance on the US dollar.

In Caricom, transferring money from TT to Barbados is still expensive, slow and outdated.

· Super-apps like Grab: Grab grew from ride-hailing into a super-app offering transport, food delivery, insurance, loans, and bill payments – all linked through GrabPay.

Even the unbanked can participate digitally.

In Caricom, most islands lack even basic rideshare services, let alone integrated platforms.

· Regional e-commerce giants: Platforms like Lazada and Shopee dominate Southeast Asia, allowing easy cross-border purchases.

They invested in warehouses, logistics and localised their services across languages and currencies.

In Caricom, regional e-commerce is rare. Most people shop from Amazon – not a Caribbean-based solution.

This isn’t about convenience. This is about economic growth, resilience and regional survival.

ASEAN’s citizens can move money, products and services effortlessly, while Caricom citizens remain boxed in by borders and bureaucracy.

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Why Caricom is being left behind

We had the vision – the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) and the Single ICT Space. But in practice:

· Cross-border payments are broken: CBR withdrawals have crippled affordable transactions.

· No regional super-apps: We lack anything close to a Grab or Shopee