Guyana: technology regulation at a glance

Framework: AML/CFT Act as amended by Act No. 15 of 2023; FIU National Risk Assessment on Virtual Assets and VASPs (January 2024); draft Guyana Compliance Commission Bill, oversight roles assigned to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Bank of Guyana, and Guyana Securities Council

Guyana has no licensing or regulatory framework permitting cryptocurrency or VASP operations. The Attorney General declared crypto 'not legal' in 2020, and the FIU's January 2024 National Risk Assessment formally recommended prohibition of all VA and VASP activities, citing AML/CFT vulnerabilities. The draft Compliance Commission Bill, which has not yet been enacted as of early 2026, would codify this prohibition; the AML/CFT Amendment Act 2023 (No. 15) has already brought VAs/VASPs within the AML/CFT supervisory perimeter.

Framework: No dedicated AI law, national AI strategy, or AI bill in force or formally introduced. AI-relevant governance rests only on the general Data Protection Act 18 of 2023 plus non-binding regional guidance (UNESCO/CARICOM Caribbean AI Policy Roadmap) and stated government intent to develop a framework.

Guyana has no comprehensive AI legislation, no adopted national AI strategy, and no AI-specific bill before Parliament as of May 2026. Senior officials (including President/CARICOM Chair Irfaan Ali and Minister McCoy) have publicly acknowledged the need to build legislative and oversight frameworks for AI but these remain aspirational; the only enacted, AI-adjacent law is the general Data Protection Act 2023, whose enforcement office and commissioner have reportedly not yet been operationalized.

Framework: Data Protection Act 18 of 2023 (Act No. 18 of 2023), supervised by the Data Protection Commissioner under the Data Protection Office

Guyana enacted a comprehensive personal-data protection law, the Data Protection Act 18 of 2023, receiving presidential assent on 16 August 2023 and coming fully into force on 1 January 2025. The Act is modelled closely on GDPR principles and covers all public and private entities that collect, process, or disseminate personal data. Institutional implementation has lagged: the Data Protection Commissioner (Aneal Giddings) was only appointed in February 2026, meaning active enforcement is nascent as of mid-2026.

Framework: National Payments System Act No. 13 of 2018 (in force June 2019), administered by the Bank of Guyana

Guyana enacted the National Payments System Act No. 13 of 2018, which grants the Bank of Guyana comprehensive authority to license and supervise payment service providers and operators. The Bank issued Supervision Guideline No. 1 for Payment Service Providers in April 2023, and launched the FAST PAY real-time interbank transfer system on June 2, 2026. A draft Regulation on Electronic Money exists but has not been formally finalised; open banking and BNPL-specific rules are absent.

Framework: Immigration Act (Cap. 14:02), administered by the Immigration Support Services (ISS), Ministry of Home Affairs

Guyana has no dedicated digital nomad or remote-work visa. Existing pathways, visa-free or visitor-visa entry for short stays, and a business/investor visa tied to local incorporation, can serve location-independent workers, but no category explicitly authorises remote work for a foreign employer. Employment visas require a Guyanese employer sponsor and are unsuitable for classic digital nomads. Widely circulated third-party claims of a '2025 Guyana digital nomad visa launch' are unsupported by any official source.

Framework: Cybercrime Act 2018 (Act No. 16 of 2018); Telecommunications Act 2016; Broadcasting Act 2011, no comprehensive online safety or platform-regulation law yet in force

Guyana's primary instrument for online safety is the Cybercrime Act 2018, which criminalises specific online harms (child pornography, cyberbullying, harassment, fraud) but imposes no platform-liability or content-moderation duties on intermediaries. Broader social-media regulation is under active government consultation as of early 2026, with the Attorney General announcing a revision of the Cybercrime Act and President Ali calling for national consultations on a social-media regulatory framework, but no comprehensive online safety bill has been tabled in Parliament.

Framework: Cybercrime Act 2018 (Act No. 16 of 2018); Data Protection Act 2023 (Act No. 18 of 2023); National Cybersecurity Policy Framework (NDMA, 2024); National CIRT (cirt.gy) under the National Data Management Authority

Guyana's cybersecurity regime is built on two in-force statutes, the Cybercrime Act 2018 criminalising computer-related offences and the Data Protection Act 2023 imposing 72-hour breach notification, supplemented by a 43-policy administrative framework launched by the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) in April 2024. No single comprehensive NIS2-style law imposing cross-sector security obligations currently exists; the Attorney General has announced a revision of the Cybercrime Act to align with UN cybercrime convention standards, but amending legislation had not been enacted as of early 2026.

Framework: Guyana Investment Act 2004 (Act No. 1 of 2004); Companies Act Cap. 89:01; administered by the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority (DCRA) and the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest)

Guyana permits 100% foreign ownership of companies with no statutory minimum capital requirement under the Investment Act 2004, which explicitly prohibits discrimination between foreign and domestic investors. Registration is handled by the DCRA under the Companies Act Cap. 89:01 and typically takes 3-5 business days following recent digitisation reforms reducing the prior three-week timeline. Sector-specific restrictions apply in artisanal/small-scale mining, oil and gas (local content obligations), and agricultural land ownership, but do not affect general business formation.