Concerns that the shift towards digital payments could give the Government greater visibility into Jamaicans’ spending present a challenge to wider adoption, raising questions about data privacy, financial fraud, and the safeguards needed to build public trust.

The issues were raised at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ) conference where Mario Griffiths, division chief of the Bank of Jamaica’s Payment System and Money Services Oversight Division, and Sheree Martin, chief executive officer of NCB Financial Group, discussed the concerns surrounding the transition to digital transactions.

Griffiths pointed to a 2023 survey conducted in relation to Jamaica’s central bank digital currency, JAM-DEX, in which more than 80 per cent of respondents indicated that they trusted the central bank. He said the findings also highlighted the importance of communicating how digital payment products work and ensuring they are available wherever consumers make purchases.

Addressing concerns about government surveillance, Griffiths explained that the existing two-tier monetary system separates the central bank’s role from that of commercial banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions that hold customer accounts.

“We don’t have your information. We don’t need it. We only need to understand circulation of money — information that you maintain with your commercial bank or your institution, credit unions, that sits with them,” Griffiths clarified.

His explanation addressed the distinction between the central bank’s oversight of money circulation and the customer information held by financial institutions. However, the extent of privacy protections available to consumers also depends on how their information is collected, accessed, and safeguarded across the financial system.

Beyond privacy, the risk of scams and unauthorised access to bank accounts remains another consideration for consumers deciding whether to embrace digital financial services. Martin said continued education on safe banking practices was necessary, particularly as scammers use social engineering to manipulate people into disclosing sensitive information.

“I think the education has to continue around safe ways of operating your accounts because, yes, you will get the excuse that digital transactions are susceptible to persons being socially engineered through scams, and that does detract from the appeal of digital payments, particularly as I mentioned before around seniors and persons in the hills, in more rural areas, as Mario mentioned,” Martin said.

She argued that efforts to expand digital payments must be accompanied by convenient and accessible options for consumers and called for continued public education to help consumers recognise potential threats, alongside stronger cooperation among financial sector stakeholders to combat fraud.

“The continued education in a more positive way than a negative way around scams ,and how you educate yourselves on ways to look out for compromises, or things that you could do that would compromise your account cannot stop,” she said. “We also have to work more collectively with other partners around strengthening cybersecurity, fraud detection, the ability to alert customers, or even to apprehend persons that we know are dedicating their time and effort to having persons give over their credentials. So it’s multifaceted,” Martin added.

For consumers, the shift towards digital payments promises greater convenience, but wider adoption will depend on confidence that personal financial information is protected and adequate safeguards are in place to detect and prevent fraud.