KINGSTON, Jamaica—CIBC Caribbean Bank has launched Google Pay in Jamaica, but local customers will initially be limited to using credit cards, even as customers in four other Caribbean markets are able to add both debit and credit cards.

Google Pay is a digital service offered in the Google Wallet mobile application which allows users to add their debit or credit cards to conduct transactions with their mobile devices. This service enables users to pay online or make contactless payments with their mobile device while the tokenisation process results in merchants never receiving the card details.

“Introducing Google Wallet support for clients reflects CIBC Caribbean’s ongoing commitment to delivering innovative client-centred digital banking solutions and is another important step in enhancing the digital banking experience for our clients,” said Jennifer Fuller, CIBC Caribbean director of enterprise payments, cards and merchant services, in the press release.

This means that customers of CIBC Caribbean Bank (Jamaica) Limited can now add their Visa and Mastercard credit cards onto the Google Wallet mobile app to conduct their transactions with their Android devices. However, debit cards cannot be added to Google Wallet for Jamaican customers which is the only country to have this restriction so far.

CIBC Caribbean customers in Barbados, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Trinidad & Tobago can add either their debit or credit card to the Google Wallet app. CIBC Caribbean intends to introduce the offering to customers in its other five territories over time.

“Adding Google Pay supports our focus on convenience, security and innovation, while allowing us to roll out this service in a phased and controlled manner across our markets. Our clients expect modern payment options that fit their lifestyles, and Google Pay delivers exactly that,” Fuller added.

CIBC Caribbean’s move to introduce Google Pay comes at a time as the Silicon Valley giant begins to roll out the service across the Caribbean.

Commonwealth Bank Limited launched the service in November 2025 to its Bahamian customers while Trinidadian-based First Citizens Bank Limited launched Google Pay in December 2025.

The Cayman Islands had four banks which enabled Google Pay prior to CIBC Caribbean’s roll-out. There are 12 banks in the Dominican Republic which offer the service, with Scotiabank customers in both territories able to add their cards.

The Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Limited announced in late 2024 that it was gearing up to launch Apple Pay in Jamaica. At the Scotia Group Jamaica Limited annual general meeting on March 4, President and CEO Audrey Tugwell Henry told shareholders that the offering was likely to be rolled out by late 2026.

Sagicor Bank Jamaica Limited CEO Chorvelle Johnson Cunningham told investors on May 20, “In terms of Apple Pay, tokenisation and all of those things, those are things that we have in our trajectory in the short to medium term.”

The move to roll-out Google Pay and Apple Pay comes at a time when several merchants express discomfort in allowing digital wallet payments. While three banks told the Jamaica Observer last July that their systems were secure and that they weren’t receiving reports of disputes, different merchants had signs prominently displayed at their businesses saying no to digital wallets.