The Bank Of Jamaica Will Launch The Digital Jamaican Dollar In 2022, Says PM Andrew Holness

The CBDC in Jamaica is Set to Open this Year

According to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Jamaica, an island country in the Caribbean Sea, expects to launch its CBDC this year. On February 10, the Jamaican official tweeted about the CBDC, saying, "After a successful trial in 2021, the Bank of Jamaica will put out its digital Jamaican dollar in 2022."

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) released the pilot results in December of last year, revealing that it had minted $230 million in digital currency on August 9, issued $1 million in CBDC to wallet providers the next day, and issued an additional $5 million in CBDC to a deposit-taking institution, the National Commercial Bank, two months later. Following that, the NCB onboarded 57 consumers who engaged in person-to-person transactions, including those with small businesses.

Jamaica's CBDC Wallet Would Accept Credit as Well as Prepaid Cards

Jamaica's forthcoming CBDC will join a limited group of nation-states that have already implemented CBDCs, including China, Nigeria, and Venezuela. Meanwhile, the European Commission said a digital euro bill will be unveiled in 2023, while the Federal Reserve revealed research and code for its CBDC project.

Bank of Jamaica collaborated on its CBDC trial with National Commercial Bank (NCB) and a small number of wallet suppliers. On August 9, Jamaica's central bank issued around $230 million in CBDC. Holness anticipates that more than 70% of Jamaicans will use CBDC during the next five years. Sabrina Cooper, vice-president of retail banking at Sagicor Bank Jamaica, told the Jamaica Observer that the CBDC wallet would be used for more than merely leveraging the CBDC.