THE Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) is working to improve access to its central bank digital currency (CBDC) as Jamaica continues to reel from the impact of Hurricane Melissa which has disrupted economic activity in the western end of the island.

This was the update provided by BOJ Governor Richard Byles at the recent quarterly monetary press conference held on December 22 at its headquarters. Jam-Dex (Jamaica Digital Exchange) is Jamaica’s CBDC which is equivalent one-to-one with the Jamaican dollar (JMD). Although it became legal tender in June 2022, the value of Jam-Dex in issuance continues to represent one-tenth of a per cent of all currency in circulation.

The two main constraints impacting the use of Jam-Dex surround the number of wallet providers and the ability of merchants to accept the currency using their existing POS (point of sale) terminals. The public can currently use only two digital wallets to transact with Jam-Dex: the Lynk mobile app from NCB’s TFOB Limited and JN Bank’s JN Pay. The BOJ lists 2,379 merchants on its website that accept Jam-Dex as payment.

“The entire BOJ is going to be pressing relentlessly to get the POS machines in the banks converted to take Jam-Dex so that we can market Jam-Dex in a massive way and get more Jamaicans to use it instead of cash,” Byles added in his remarks.

Jamaica was impacted by Hurricane Melissa on October 28, leaving the western portion reeling from disruption to infrastructure and commerce. This has pushed several segments of the west to switch to cash to conduct daily commerce as telecommunication and electricity access impact regular POS usage. BOJ even facilitated the disbursement of $3.9 billion in emergency cash to commercial banks last month to assist with its need in the system.

However, while this represents a temporary stopgap it increases the dependency on cash in the Jamaican economy. While most of Jamaica’s financial transactions are conducted digitally via the banking system, most day-to-day transactions in Jamaica are done using cash. The BOJ’s balance sheet for November 26 reveals the value of notes and coins in circulation increased 13 per cent year on year, from $261.62 billion to $295.67 billion.

Emphasising the urgency, Byles later stated, “Jamaica lives on cash too much. It’s bad now, but I can tell you, next year this time it’s going to be even worse unless we get off this diet of cash. The way to do it is through Jam-Dex.”

The BOJ’s balance sheet revealed that there was an additional $1.60 million of Jam-Dex issued during 2025 to bring the value of Jam-Dex issued to $260.05 million. Deputy Governor Natalie Haynes, with responsibility for financial markets and payment systems, revealed that this new issuance was related to a new participant entering the space, but they were not fully ready to launch their solution.

Haynes explained that there are two components with Jam-Dex which includes the ability for the BOJ to issue and redeem Jam-Dex with the banks and the roll-out of digital wallets to the public.

She stated, “We were expecting two more [firms] to come on before year end but, of course, [Hurricane] Melissa happened. So, we’re looking for the last two to come on by Q1 [January to March] of next year.”

Sagicor Bank Jamaica Limited was added as the third wallet provider in 2023 but has not publicly launched a digital wallet. It’s added a section called digital wallet accounts to its online banking platform but it has not provided any public updates on its digital wallet initiatives.

JN Bank launched its JN Pay Wallet to the public in January 2025, with about 4,000 users.

BOJ partnered with Tax Administration Jamaica earlier this year to allow for members of the public to settle fitness fees, property taxes and traffic tickets using the digital currency. BOJ has also partnered with some food merchants to improve awareness and usage of the digital currency in recent times. Jam-Dex can also be used in an offline mode.

The hurricane-induced push for cash has been compounded by ongoing difficulties with automated banking machines (ABMs). BOJ introduced ABM standards in April 2024 which took effect at the start of the year. These standards set a requirement for at least 90 per cent of a deposit-taking institution’s (DTI) ABM inventory to be operational and have 95 per cent up time.

According to the September 2025 ABM report, most DTIs meet the 90 per cent operational requirement across the island but the 95 per cent up time remained a challenge, with most DTIs averaging above 90 per cent. There were 904 installed ABMs at the end of September, with 888 ABMs operational.

According to the BOJ’s ABM in operation report, there were 454 ABMs in operation a day after the hurricane. However, the number of ABMS in operation rose to 770 machines by December 16, with most western parishes having less than 90 per cent of ABMs in operation. Hanover only had four ABMS in operation compared to the pre-Melissa figure of 16 machines. St Elizabeth had half or 19 machines in operation while St James had 71 machines or 65 per cent of its pre-Melissa figure in operation.

While the hurricane did disrupt the operations of some ABMs, vandalism continues to impact the operational numbers for ABMS in use. Audrey Tugwell Henry, president of Scotia Group Jamaica Limited, noted in June that the Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Limited (BNSJ) had 15 machines vandalised in the February to April quarter. The cash transportation cost had also increased by at least 20 per cent on a year-over-year basis, also impacting the cost to serve customers via ABMs. Tugwell Henry is also the president of the Jamaica Bankers Association.

“Prior to the impact of [Hurricane] Melissa there was a workstream where we would do requests for institutions to do, at their own cost, independent reviews of their ABM performance. We have pushed back on that because most banks are focused on trying to get their network up and running, but that’s certainly something we intend to pursue at some point next year,” Deputy Governor Dr Jide Lewis said in his remarks.

First Global Bank notifies of the closure of its downtown ABM during certain hours, due to vandalism.