A new digital platform designed to streamline child maintenance collection is set to be introduced in Antigua and Barbuda, targeting thousands of parents who have fallen behind on court-ordered payments. According to Antigua News Room, Cabinet has endorsed the MainCollect app, a system that will allow maintenance payments to be processed electronically while providing courts and parents with real-time access to payment records and compliance data.
Officials who presented the initiative to Cabinet indicated that between 1,500 and 2,500 fathers in Antigua and Barbuda are currently listed in court records as having outstanding child maintenance obligations. Across the wider Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), that figure rises sharply, with an estimated 11,000 fathers delinquent on court-ordered payments.
The Family Court brought the proposal before Cabinet, describing unpaid child maintenance as a persistent and growing challenge that continues to place significant financial strain on mothers, guardians, and children throughout the region.
The MainCollect platform has received approval from the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and is expected to become fully operational within six months. Officials said it will subsequently be rolled out across OECS member states.
Under the new system, parents will be able to make payments through a mobile application, monitor transactions, and receive notifications confirming when payments have been processed. Courts will simultaneously gain access to real-time data on outstanding balances and compliance rates, reducing the administrative burden currently associated with tracking payments manually.
Cabinet also discussed a range of additional enforcement measures to accompany the app's introduction. These include wage deductions facilitated through employers and the possible establishment of a register of persistent defaulters — steps aimed at strengthening accountability for those who continue to neglect their financial obligations to their children.
