Jamaica to Launch CBDC Jamaica Digital Exchange

• Bank of Jamaica is set to launch a central bank digital currency named Jamaica Digital Exchange.
• The institution will perform additional tests this month to its CBDC to guarantee seamless transactions.
• The CBDC should help Jamaicans who are financially excluded, the Bank of Jamaica’s Governor said.

Bank of Jamaica, the central bank of Jamaica, plans to launch a digital version of its national currency. Last February, the institution stated that everything was ready for the release of the product. The CBDC, named Jam-Dex, stands for Jamaica Digital Exchange. 

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According to a recent interview with the Business Guardian, Natalie Haynes, the Committee Chair and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Jamaica, clarified that their initiative will help those Jamaicans cut off financially from the monetary system. She described:

“We still have a large percent of the population that remains outside of the formal financial system, the financially included,” 

Those who can use electronic methods of payment, including debit and credit cards, can seamlessly adopt the CBDC. Haynes also added that the objective of Jam-Dex is to digitally transform the whole economy of the island nation.

Haynes also disclosed that the Bank of Jamaica will perform additional tests during April. This will guarantee seamless transactions. The Deputy Governor mentioned that Jam-Dex will also debut in the upcoming months.

In other news, Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, shared on a tweet last month that the first 100,000 citizens who set up CBDC wallets after April 1 will receive an incentive of 2,500 Jamaican dollars (16 US dollars). 

Minister of Finance Nigel Clarke said the initiative aims to uplift locals to use the CBDC as an alternative. Clarke mentioned that the government will provide incentives to businesses that will adopt Jam-Dex. 

The Jamaican digital currency will soon become the third CBDC in the Caribbean area. The first include the Bahamas’ Sand Dollar (launched in 2020) and DCash (introduced in 2020). The latter functions from several countries including Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

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