A digital revolution that will generally make it easier for Jamaicans to do business locally, including opening bank accounts in under an hour, is gaining momentum with the development of a digital document wallet.

Minister of Efficiency, Innovation and Digital Transformation Ambassador Audrey Marks outlined the measures during her maiden contribution to the sectoral debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Marks told Parliament that the digital document wallet will build on the multi-agency success of the electronic motor vehicle certificates.

“This will allow citizens to securely store and share Government-issued documents electronically, including their motor vehicle documents, birth certificates, national identification cards and any other civic documents that they want to store in the wallet,” she explained.

She described this as “more convenience and more efficiency”.

For people who are forgetful, Marks, who is the first-term Member of Parliament for Manchester North East, said the GovNotify initiative will centralise Government notifications and updates through e-mail, text messaging, and WhatsApp messages.

“The people of Jamaica will be able to receive reminders for expiring passports, driver’s licences, and other important updates similar to notifications being received for motor vehicle registration and fitness certificates. Because we all need reminders sometimes,” she said.

“These are not isolated initiatives. They represent a deliberate shift toward a government that is more efficient. But to deliver these services seamlessly and at scale, they must be connected”.

The minister, who is based in the Office of the Prime Minister, said last month her office implemented the Jamaica Data Exchange Platform (JDXP), which she described as a “foundational pillar of our digital transformation agenda”. She outlined that at some point, every Jamaican has had to move from office to office carrying documents, repeatedly filling out the same forms “and waiting far too long just to get business done”.

This will become a thing of the past as JDXP allows authorised government systems to exchange information electronically in a controlled and standardised way.

“It allows institutions to securely verify information directly at the source instead of requiring citizens to carry documents everywhere,” said Marks.

She told the House that Jamaicans should think of JDXP as a trusted digital bridge connecting government agencies and businesses.

“Which means if you go to open a bank account your identity can be verified in real time using your national identification card,” she said. “Not a JP (justice of the peace) letter, not a reference form, no back-and-forth, no duplication. No delays,” she stated.

Marks went further, declaring, “It is my intention that opening a bank account in Jamaica should move to first-world standards where accounts can be opened in under one hour.”

She expressed confidence that the JDXP will make this possible, marking a major new change in how business is done with the Government, utilising what she called the “Once-Only, Zero Bureaucracy Principle”.

The minister insisted that Jamaicans should not be required to provide the same information to the Government repeatedly. “Through the Once-Only principle being powered by the Jamaica Data Exchange Platform, information provided once to the Government can now be securely shared, with consent, and reused across multiple ministries, departments and agencies — reducing duplication, improving efficiency, and delivering a more seamless, citizen-centred public service experience,” she said.

Marks told the Parliament that these initiatives represent a deliberate and structured approach to modernising public services and improving the everyday experience of the Jamaican people.

“The foundation has been established, the systems are being integrated and the direction is clear,” she said.