THE Jamaican Government has started work for the implementation of a national civil registry to improve financial inclusion and compliance in the financial services sector, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced Monday.

“The Government, in looking at the overarching objectives, is moving towards more streamlined and seamless processes. I take this opportunity to highlight the national identification system… This project will have a transformative effect on Jamaica. What this envisions is the cradle-to-grave biometric identification, with a unique identification number being used by every Jamaican with the appropriate anti-fraud features,” Holness stated.

Holness, giving the keynote address at the 5th Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism Conference in Kingston, said the introduction of this national identification system is intended to eliminate some of the procedural steps which could make compliance easer, while ensuring security and inclusion. This source of identification, he said, will be considered as conclusive for the purpose of customer due diligence, not only for banks, but for all other businesses which require customer identification and verification, he said.

“This system is designed to promote financial inclusion among those who are underserved by our current range of financial products and services,” said the prime minister.

He told the gathering that he has mandated the project team to roll out the new system by January 2018.

“Since taking over the reins of Government, my Administration has indicated to the project team that the project is a strategic priority. Since that time the project has been considered by the Public Investment Management Secretariat and was recently approved by the Public Investment Management Committee,” he said. The policy, he added, has been fine-tuned and was expected to go before Cabinet on Monday.

According to Holness, Jamaica must leverage every technological resource at its disposal to meet the demands of the global business environment, adding that Government’s use of technology in regulation and compliance must be in step with international practices.

Sharing a difficult experience he had when assisting a relative from overseas to open a bank account, the prime minister noted that these challenges could be eliminated if there were a robust national civil registry where identification and verification that is required for doing business is readily accessible.

“So the idea, as it relates to the national identification system, is to create a very strong national civil registry that has biometric [data], that has geographical data that is stored in one place,” Holness said.