JMMB Group Limited (JMMBGL) has launched the digital option for banking customers to initiate new certificates of deposit (CDs) in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago as it moves to digitise more of its solutions for its clients.

This was unveiled in the latest update to the Moneyline mobile application for its customers.

As a result, customers of JMMB Bank (Jamaica) Limited and JMMB Bank (T&T) Limited can now initiate new CDs without the need to go in branch.

The minimum for Jamaican customers is $2,000 or US$1,000 while Trinidadian customers need TT$1,000 or US$1,000.

A CD is a special savings or fixed-deposit account whereby a client agrees to receive a higher interest rate by leaving their principal or money untouched for a longer period.

At the end of the term, the customer can have the principal and interest returned to their account or rolled over into a new CD with the interest reinvested as well.

If a customer leaves $1 million in their JMMB savings account for 90 days, they would benefit from a 2.00 per cent interest rate.

However, by leaving those funds untouched in a 90-day CD, they would be paid 3.25 per cent, 125 basis points or 1.25 per cent more on their money.

“Our client expectations are changing. They want to engage with us differently, they want to have more self-service, transact digitally, connect with us immediately across the channels that suit them,” stated JMMBGL Chief Transformation Officer Vedula Tushar Rao at its recent annual general meeting (AGM).

Rao indicated in his presentation that JMMBGL’s transformation would see clients being able to do more self-service options on their own terms and time, which included loan origination, creating a CD and managing card limits.

JMMBGL has been moving to digitise more of its processes and services over the last five years as it looks towards scaling its operations in four territories.

It launched a Moneyline IPO platform for non-clients in December 2023 which strengthened its capital markets business and made the application process more streamlined.

That offering was followed by a digital onboarding platform in 2024 which allowed existing and non-JMMB clients to open new accounts online.

JMMBGL has launched the Moneyline mobile app in Jamaica and Trinidad, with plans to launch the digital platform in the Dominican Republic (DR) shortly.

Its DR operations are also set to benefit from the digital onboarding and CD solutions in the current March 2027 financial year.

“We will be able to bring new solutions and capabilities in the hands of our clients, and also in the hands of our teams faster so that they can serve our clients much better,” Rao added.

RAO…our client expectations are changing. They want to engage with us differently

The move to launch this digital solution comes at a time when interest rates have begun to rise again in the Jamaican market after nearly two years of rate cuts.

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) hiked its policy rate by 50 basis points to 6.00 per cent effective September 30. That higher policy rate has also resulted in the 30-day CD interest rate moving from 5.75 per cent to 6.25 per cent.

The BOJ’s weekly CD had an average yield of 6.44 per cent for the October 14 auction. The digitisation of the CD offering strengthens the funding base of the Jamaican bank while optimising its liquidity profile.

JMMB Bank (Jamaica) had a $157.19 billion loan base as of June 30, making it the fourth largest commercial bank by loans in Jamaica.

Those loans formed part of the $232.56 billion asset base which was underpinned by $190.39 billion in customer deposits.

“CariCRIS expects JMMBGL’s business risk profile to remain stable over the next 12 to 15 months.

This is supported by the Group’s sustained good market position and continued focus on advancing its digital initiatives.

Additionally, the new transformational plan is likely to improve JMMBGL’s scalability and drive operational efficiency over the medium to long-term,” stated the Caribbean Information & Credit Rating Services (CariCRIS) Limited report on JMMBGL.

Sagicor Bank Jamaica Limited (SBJ), JN Bank Limited and CIBC Caribbean Bank (Jamaica) Limited all offer the option for customers to initiate CDs digitally.

SBJ and JN Bank have $25,000 minimums while CIBC Caribbean requires $50,000 to initiate a CD.

JN Bank is currently offering a fixed-deposit promotion up to October 31 whereby customers can earn up to 6.25 per cent on their money if held for at least a year.

That promotion comes more than three years after it promoted a similar fixed-deposit promotion where it was paying up to 7.00 per cent to its customers.

Its JN One Passport app revealed that pensioners enjoy an additional 0.25 per cent on its JN Direct Gain account, a fixed-deposit account.

These higher interest rate offerings by different commercial banks takes place in a competitive market whereby savers have different options to place their money.

This includes the BOJ’s 30-day CD which is offered weekly, repurchase agreements (repos) offered by securities dealers and corporate bonds offered by various companies for different durations and interest rates.

This creates an incentive for smaller players to offer higher rates to attract deposits and manage their funding base.

Commercial banks held $2.14 trillion in deposits as of June 30, with National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited and the Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Limited holding a combined $1.23 trillion or 57.49 per cent market share.

The BOJ is set to publish balance sheet data for deposit-taking institutions in mid-November.