Jamaica is ‘Determined’ to Bring CBDC to Address Cash Problems: BOJ Governor

Jamaica, that launched its JAM-DEX central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2021, is “determined” in getting through CBDC challenges.

According to the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) governor Richard Byles, BOJ is determined to find solutions for the slow roll-out of their CBDC.

Several early adopters of CBDCs such as Nigeria, the Bahamas and Jamaica, have seen a relatively low adoption rates. As of March 2022, there were 190,000 JAM-DEX users, with low adoption rates resulting in rolling-out incentives to boost usage.

“Being one of the first in the world has its unique challenges,” Byles noted. He was speaking at BOJ’s quarterly monetary policy report press conference on Wednesday alongside senior deputy governor Dr. Wayne Robinson.

“What we are finding in the roll-out is as we address an issue and move ahead, another one pops up. I guess that’s what you get for being amongst the first,” he said, per a local report.  You don’t have a road map set out by others, but we are determined.”

Furthermore, he mentioned the challenges faced by using cash in the jurisdiction, creating problems that are intractable. The cash security issues have created a threat among people, he added.

“When you look at all of the cash problems and complaints, fundamentally, digitizing is the only solution. All those issues go away with digital transactions, credit cards, debit cards, wallets, CBDC, that’s what we want in this country.”

Jamaica CBDC Faces Lower ‘Merchant Adoption’

At present, the National Commercial Bank Jamaica (NCB), is the only financial institution to facilitate JAM-DEX transactions through Lynk wallet.

A second digital wallet provider, JN Bank, was on-boarded to JAM-DEX in December 2022. The bank has been finalizing its wallet app for public use, with the JN wallet set to go live for CBDC soon.

“The take-up is still lower than what we desire at this time. The main reason is merchant adoption,” said BOJ’s deputy governor, banking, currency operations, Natalie Haynes.

“Most of the larger merchants would prefer if Jam-Dex payments go through a single point-of-sale machine, so what we are doing is testing a solution in the sandbox for the use of a dynamic QR code,” she said.