--- tags: country --- # Trinidad & Tobago, tt, TTD | Key | Value | | ------------- | --------------- | | [Location:](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/td.html) | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | | [Capital City:](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/td.html) | Port of Spain | | [Goverment Type:](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/td.html) | Parliamentary Republic | | [Currency Code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago_dollar) | TTD | | [Symbol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago_dollar) | TT$ | | [Banknotes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago_dollar) | 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 | | [Coins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago_dollar) | 1¢, 10¢, 25¢ | | [Users](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago_dollar) | Trinidad & Tobago | | [Central Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago_dollar) | [Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago](https://www.central-bank.org.tt/) | ### Background [^wiki] - Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic republic in the southern Caribbean - Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands - Well known for it's African and Indian cultures - Recognised by the World Bank as a high-income economy - Known for fossil-fuel wealth ### Economy [^wiki] Trinidadian economy is primarily industrial with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals, much of the nation's wealth is derived from its large reserves of oil and natural gas. Trinidad's economy is influenced by: - petroleum industry - tourism - manufacturing Agricultural products include: - citrus - cocoa - Historically: sugar, coffee ## Demographics [Population Distribution](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/td.html) - Population on Trinidad is concentrated in the western half of the island, on Tobago in the southern half - The population density in Trinidad and Tobago is 273 per Km2 [^w_meters] [Nationality](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/td.html) - Trinidadian(s) - Tobagonian(s) #### Population Size | Year [^wittgenstein_centre] | Population | Gender | Population by Gender | |:---------------------------:|:----------:|:------:|:--------------------:| | 2000 | 1268.0 | Male | 630.6 | | | | Female | 637.4 | | 2020 | 1348.4 | Male | 662.8 | | | | Female | 685.6 | | 2040 (forecast) | 1197.0 | Male | 580.0 | | | | Female | 617.0 | <small> Population Size (000's) - De facto population in a country or region, classified by sex and by five-year age groups. Available in all scenarios and at all geographical scales. Figures are presented in thousands.</small> <small> Medium (SSP2) - Population Component of Medium (SSP2): This is the middle of the road scenario that can also be seen as the most likely path for each country. It combines for all countries medium fertility with medium mortality, medium migration, and the Global Education Trend (GET) education scenario.</small> #### Urban & Rural Population | Year [^w_meters] | Urban Pop % | Urban Pop | Rural Pop % | Rural Pop | |:----------------:|:-----------:|:---------:|:-----------:|:---------:| | 2000 | 55.9 % | 708,868 | 44.1 % | 666,342 | | 2020 | 52.4 % | 733,146 | 47,6 % | 558,285 | | 2040 | 56.5 % | 786,958 | 43.5 % | 604,982 | - Major urban area is the capital Port of Spain with the population of 544,000 in 2020 [^cia] ### Languages [^cia] - English (official) - Trinidadian Creole English - Tobagonian Creole English - Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi) - Trinidadian Creole French - Spanish - Chinese ### Ethnic groups: [^wiki] - Indian 35.4% - African 34.2% - Mixed 15.3% - Dougla (Carribean people who are mixed with African and Indian descent) 7.7% - Unspecified 6.2% - Other 1.3% ## Using Bitcoin ### P2P Volumes Bitcoin P2P market volumes in Trinidad & Tobago according to [UsefulTulips](https://www.usefultulips.org/combined_TTD_Page.html) started in April 2017 when USD Equivalent Volume was 162.8051 on Paxful. ##### [LocalBitcoin Volumes](https://www.usefultulips.org/combined_TTD_Page.html) - February 2018. to January 2019. volumes were in between 207 and 22.115 USD Equivalent Volume. - From May 2020. to November 2020. volumes were moving from 3981 to 680 USD Equivalent Volume. ##### [Paxful Volumes](https://www.usefultulips.org/combined_TTD_Page.html) - Since Jun 2020. volumes were moving from 6 to 10.444 USD Equivalent Volume in August 2020. on Paxful. ### Converting Bitcoin to local currency - Diary Study <iframe class="airtable-embed" src="https://airtable.com/embed/shrBzk5uMA3cGjPiN?backgroundColor=purple&viewControls=on" frameborder="0" onmousewheel="" width="100%" height="533" style="background: transparent; border: 1px solid #ccc;"></iframe> #### KYC / Address Verification We attempted to use Paxful a P2P marketplace to exchange bitcoin to local currenceis, especially since the larger exchanges do not have buy/sell features in the country. ##### Challenges There was not any bigger challenges, excpet that address verification took more than 2 days. ##### Process - [x] Creating an account - [x] ID Verification - [x] Address Verification ##### Verification ID Verification was fast and without any issues Address Verification wasn't as fast ad ID Verification, took morethan 2 days, but eventually it was successful. - Highlights: - Learnings: Comparing this process to the one in Rwanda, we realise that verification is not the same everywhere. Process can be less painfull in other places. - Outcome: - ID Verification was successful - Address Verification was successful - Making somone who is not comfortable with casless transactions at all to go through entire process and like it #### Finding Buyers - Challenges: Understanding how certain processes work, having to ask someone or watch a tutorial in order to understand what is the next step. Participant was not able to create an offer on Paxful. Fees while sending from Blue Wallet to Paxful and from Paxful back to Blue Wallet. - Process: > The process is tedious. It requires a lot of time, patience and knowledge to use Paxful account. - Process for selling BTC and receiving a payment from a buyer: ```mermaid graph LR 1(Sellers Paxful account) --> 2(Sellers Blue Wallet) --> 3(Buyers Blue Wallet BTC address) 4(Buyers Bank Account) --> 5(Sellers Bank Account) ``` - Highlights: Because there was diffculties while creating an offer on Paxful, there was a need to reach out of the P2P market and find a buyer inside social circle. - Learnings: - Difficulties finding buyers - Difficulties understanding the process - Outcome: - Buyers were found through sellers own network - High fees on Paxful made people to find alternative ways for conversion ### Finding Sellers - N/A --- ### Payments From what we understand from our personas most people store their money in Bank Accounts or Credit Unions. Only a small amount of money is held in cash during the month, the reason for that is fear of fraud. Daily transactions are done either in cash or with debit/credit card. ### Who are the players now (a summary of the money services we discovered in personas) - Banks - Credit Unions BED.MONEY Notes People still hold a certain amount of money in cash, mostly because it's a necessity, it's not always a preffered method of payment. ### Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) > Central Bank acknowledged the potential positives in the introduction of virtual currencies; the possible reduction of transactions costs and a stronger financial system in Trinidad and Tobago in an environment of increasing global competition for financial services. [^looptt] > The Bank, however, cautioned that: a) the investments may be volatile and risky b) the transactions may facilitate money laundering, terrorism funding and other criminal activities c) investors/depositors will not have the backing of deposit insurance or a financial supervisory agency in case of problems [^looptt] > While the Central Bank welcomes technological developments that strengthen efficiency and financial inclusion, the establishment of a Central Bank digital currency is not a priority at this time.[^looptt] REFERENCES [^wittgenstein_centre]: http://dataexplorer.wittgensteincentre.org/wcde-v2/ [^w_meters]: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/trinidad-and-tobago-population/ [^cia]: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/td.html [^wiki]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago#Economy [^looptt]: https://www.looptt.com/content/not-priority-central-bank-not-ready-digital-currency