Jamaica Will Issue its CBDC This Year

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The Central Bank of Jamaica started to select IT companies to develop a digital currency (CBDC) in July 2020.

The first tests of the token started last year. Now, the Jamaican authorities have said that they are planning to issue their digital currency by the end of the year.

The country’s prime minister Andrew Holness said at the end of last week that before the regular release of the CBDC, the authorities first want to complete testing of the infrastructure, which will now focus on the digitalization of the banking sector.

The access to the CBDC for ordinary users and companies will be provided gradually by expanding the list of financial services and by reducing commissions and increasing the speed of transactions.

Holness said has said that the digital version of the Jamaican dollar will appear on the market this year, as its testing was completed successfully. In addition, the Central Bank has not ruled out earlier the deployment of CBDC could take place in the first quarter.