BOJ launches national coin redemption drive with GraceKennedy
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Over $800,000 in one cent coins are yet to be exchanged, in addition to $31.6 million in ten cent coins and $68 million in 25 cent coins, the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has disclosed.
The disclosure was made on the heels of the launch of a partnership between the bank and GraceKennedy Payment Services Limited (GKPS) in an effort to widen its coin redemption drive urging members of the public to bring in the demonetised coins for redemption.
The Government in September last year announced that the one, 10 and 25-cent coins — which many Jamaicans refer to as “red money” — are to be put out of circulation by the BOJ due to the downward trend in their use since 2005.
According to a press release from the BOJ, the coin collection agency arrangement becomes operational 23 July 2018, and will continue for an initial period of one year.
This means that in addition to redeeming all Jamaican coin denominations at BOJ, these coins can also be redeemed via special coin machines at specific GKPS locations island-wide, the central bank said.
BOJ said that coins redeemed at the bank are always redeemed at full face value, while GKPS normally imposes an eight per cent service charge on coins redeemed through its machines.
“Thanks to this arrangement, however, GKPS will, for the duration of this agency arrangement, effective Monday 23 July, redeem coins at their coin machines at full face value with no charge to people redeeming the coins; all related charges are being covered by BOJ,” the bank stated in its release.
The release outlined that GKPS currently has nine locations across the island with coin machines to redeem coins and has indicated plans to increase that number in the near future.
Current locations are: Boulevard Super Centre, Pavillion Mall and Barbados Avenue in St Andrew; Sagicor Shopping Centre in St Catherine; Marville Pharmacy in Morant Bay, St Thomas; Heaven’s Texaco in Mandeville, Manchester; DL Financial on Main Street, Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth; Church Street, Montego Bay, St James; and Main Street, Brown’s Town, St Ann.
