A stark divide in cash machine reliability is hitting customers in Jamaica’s rural parishes hardest, according to official performance data seen by Jamaica Observer, raising concerns over financial access outside the nation’s urban centres.

The June 2025 performance figures for automated banking machines (ABMs), published by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), reveal that while machines in the capital are often operational, their uptime in rural areas lags significantly, frequently failing to meet the central bank’s minimum requirements.

The data, based on unaudited submissions from eight financial institutions, shows national uptime — the duration machines are available for cash withdrawals and deposits — averaged just 91.5 per cent for the month, well below the 95 per cent compliance threshold. The rural region was the worst performer, with an average uptime of 90.7 per cent, compared to 92.7 per cent in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA).

The performance data reveals a tale of two Jamaicas regarding access to cash, where reliability is a concern in corporate areas but becomes a consistent struggle in more remote locations.

The report highlights a clear performance gap between top and bottom-tier institutions. National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCB) and First Global Bank Limited consistently exceeded operational targets, with NCB achieving 100 per cent machine availability outside the capital and uptime above 95 per cent nationwide.

In contrast, the local unit of Canada’s Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) was a persistent outlier. Its operational rate plunged to 82.9 per cent in “Other Urban” parishes, and its uptime was the lowest reported in every region. In a note, the bank attributed the downtime to a “cash note denomination mix initiative,” parts remediation, and issues like power outages and telecom failures.

The impact is acutely felt at the parish level. The data shows that in Clarendon, a rural parish, JN Bank machines were only available for transactions 57.1 per cent of the time. In the busy parish of St Catherine, part of the Other Urban belt, a third of Scotiabank’s machines were out of service, and those that were working had an uptime of just 77.4 per cent.

“When the machine is down, I have to take two taxis to the next town. It costs time and money we don’t have,” said Marcia Brown, a market vendor in St. Elizabeth, another parish where several institutions missed uptime targets.

Beyond availability, the data shows recovery times — how long it takes to fix a broken machine — can be excruciatingly long in some areas. JMMB Bank reported an average repair time of seven hours in Hanover parish.

The Bank of Jamaica included a disclaimer, noting it does “not in any way certify the accuracy” of the figures, which were attested to by the banks’ own management.

The performance metrics, a transparency initiative by the BOJ, underscore the challenges of maintaining digital financial infrastructure across the island’s diverse geography. For policymakers, the widening urban-rural reliability gap presents a fresh hurdle in ensuring equitable access to essential banking services.