FOLLOWING the Bank of Jamaica’s (BOJ) move to waive its charges on RTGS (real time gross settlement) transfers, most commercial banks have waived RTGS fee charges for customers until the end of 2025 to facilitate faster payments after Hurricane Melissa.

The RTGS system is an electronic platform managed by the BOJ to process large and time-sensitive transactions in real time. While the RTGS system is faster than the ACH (automated clearing house) system, there was a cost to both the sender and recipient to use this platform.

However, the BOJ decided to suspend its fees charged to banks on November 2 until further notice, and expected banks to pass on this benefit to their customers. The Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Limited (BNSJ), Sagicor Bank Jamaica Limited, JN Bank Limited, First Global Bank Limited and CIBC Caribbean Bank (Jamaica) Limited have all publicly announced that they’ve waived the incoming and outgoing RTGS charges until December 31. Independent checks have shown that JMMB Bank (Jamaica) Limited and National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited retail customers are not being charged for sending RTGS transfers.

This means that if a bank customer sends a transfer in the RTGS window, which varies by bank, they should expect to receive those funds in a short span of time. While ACH transactions cost a lot less and has no charges to the recipient, it takes longer to be received as these batch transfers are processed twice daily.

The last time that the BOJ moved to suspend RTGS fees was during the COVID-19 pandemic which impacted the way business was conducted across the country. That waiver was maintained between March 2020 to April 2022 to encourage the use of electronic payments. The BOJ reinstated the fee in May 2022 at $30 per transaction, the cost associated with maintaining the RTGS system. This fee was $100 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This move to waive RTGS fees will benefit banking customers who seek to move money across Jamaica at a quicker pace in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. Banks have also made necessary moves to further protect customers who need every dollar in this period.

Scotiabank Jamaica has enabled debit card controls via its online banking platform and mobile banking application. This means that a customer can freeze/lock their card and unlock it as needed to protect their money.

JN Bank is also set to distribute its Visa debit card in short order which can be frozen and unlocked from the JN MyCard app. The new Visa debit card will enable customers to conduct transactions across the globe which will be supported by an EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa) chip and contactless/tap-enabled capabilities. JN Bank has advised that customers set up a transactional account that’s connected to this debit card so as to protect their primary savings.

“We’re excited to bring you a more secure and convenient way to access your money with the new JN Bank Visa Debit Card. Card distribution will take place on a phased basis, and you’ll be notified by email when it’s your turn,” JN Bank said in a customer e-mail.

JN Bank is set to begin distributing its Visa debit card to customers shortly.