“Can I tap the card?” a question commonly asked at a point-of-sale (POS) by a cashier when customers offer a chip-enabled card for payment.

These cards are supposed to be contactless, and have become popular worldwide as the usage of debit and credit cards and digital wallets gradually replace cash. As the name suggests, contactless payment is a form of paying that does not involve any physical contact from a consumer at POS.

Many countries such as Sweden, China and the United Kingdom have vast cashless markets, making use of mobile payments and digital wallet services provided by apps such Swish, WeChat Pay, Alipay, and PayPal. In 2010, the proportion of Swedes using cash was 39 per cent and by 2020 that number fell to nine per cent. However, only a few countries such as The Bahamas have officially launched a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Some countries are in the research phase, some are in the pilot (testing) phase, and some cancelled altogether.

CBDC allows for contactless payments as the currency will be stored in a CBDC wallet through a wallet provider — commercial bank, merchant bank, building societies, or any authorised payment service provider.

‘No Cash. No Problem’ is the tag line for the Jamaica’s CBDC (Jam-Dex). Not to be mistaken with cryptocurrency, Jam-Dex is money issued by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) in digital form and is both backed and regulated by the central bank. Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, is privately issued and is not regulated or backed by a central bank.

The CBDC is expected to promote financial inclusion. This means those persons who do not have a bank account now have the opportunity to become a part of the financial system as the minimum requirement for someone to obtain a CBDC wallet is: name, address, Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN) and a valid government-issued ID.

In August 2021, governor of the BOJ Richard Byles spoke about ensuring widespread access and acceptance of the CBDC. Less than a year later, Jam-Dex is expected to become available by the end of June 2022. However, among merchants and consumers, there is consensus that people are unaware of Jam-Dex. When asked what are your thoughts on Jam-Dex, the number one response was: “What is that?”

Since Jam-Dex will allow for contactless payment, the use of the common contactless payment in Jamaica was investigated: tap-to-pay cards.

A few businesses currently do not accept payment via tapping of cards, and the reasons for that varies depending on the different merchants. According to a cashier at a local retailer, the reason they don’t accept contactless payment (via tapping the card) is because of the issue of ‘scamming’ that seems to be ubiquitous. While, at Shopper’s Fair in Duhaney Park, the manager expressed that the staff was trained in the use of tap to pay machines, but the problem lies in the acquisition of the machines for that branch.

The issue of security is genuine concern within our society as there were those merchants who, though they do accept tap-to-pay cards, indicated that majority of their customers will tell them not to tap the card as they do not trust it.

A customer at a local restaurant expressed that he doesn’t allow the tapping of his card. He stated that he has heard of too many people having bad experiences with card tapping and so he’s afraid. He said, “I don’t bother to make them ask me if they can tap my card ‘cause when I hand it to them, I say, ‘Don’t tap it, please!’”

Some merchants, though they were not aware of Jam-Dex, they are familiar with the concept of digital payments. In an interview with Jamaica Observer, Asher Foster, managing director of Born Free Pet Centre Ltd, said, “Cash is king regardless, but digital currency makes things easier for me. I’ve been using Lynk; I like using Lynk. It’s easy, quick transaction. It doesn’t take two to three days, it’s immediate. I pay my barber through Lynk, I pay a lot of people through Lynk.”

Lynk is a digital wallet offered by NCB that allows the use of CBDC. Vernon James, CEO at TFOB (2021) Ltd (a subsidiary of NCB), explained at the Ministry of Finance and Public Service Wealth Summit 2021 that the CBDC will be a currency within Lynk and you will be able to utilise the CBDC for any of the services that Lynk offers including payments, cash in-cash out through ABMs and immediate transfers. It was found that many merchants are aware of Lynk but have not yet adapted it as a means of payment for their business.

Foster expressed that he doesn’t currently accept payments via Lynk in store, as most of his clients tend to be the elderly and they’re not up to date with using a smartphone. He also indicated his willingness to promote the use of digital payments as he believes those payments are more secure.

“I don’t have to give someone my account number or any kind of banking details. Security is important and I feel secure with Lynk. If I can get some more info about it — Jam-Dex, how it runs, the exact details of how it works then I’d be open to it,” he commented.

The director of Ramsay’s Professional Services, Shudeen Ramsay, in an interview stated that she is not aware of Jam-Dex. But after being advised based on information available on the BOJ’s website, she expressed that she would be willing to accept and use Jam-Dex provided that it is secure. When asked about the usage of Lynk services at her business establishment, she said, “I don’t accept payment via Lynk at this time because its new, and when something is new you have to really assess it. It’s not off the table; it just depends on how quick the market is gravitating towards it. I am waiting to see how people on a whole are reacting to it before I adopt it in my business.”

She highlighted that Jamaicans tend not to be the most receptive of digital changes.

“At the end of the day even though its digital money it’s still money, it’s still valuable to people and because of various incidences, there is a lack of trust in the people who handle our money. People will need to trust that this digital thing works and it safe,” she commented.

There were those merchants who think of the digital change as inevitable.

“Digital is where the world is going, and when it comes, we just have to embrace it. It doesn’t make sense we resist the change and get left behind. But I feel sorry for the elderly because they don’t know what’s going on,” said the supervisor at ProBooks and Beyond. She thinks it is of utmost importance that measures be put in place to assist the elderly in this era of digital transformation.

She was not alone in this view as several other consumers and merchants expressed similar concerns for the elderly. A customer of Lee’s Food Fair at Boulevard SuperCentre said, “I’ve seen alerts in my e-mails about digital currency and for the young people it’s a ‘YES, YES’, for the older folks it’s a big ‘No, no!’.” The customer went further to explain that without educational programmes geared towards the elderly that will break down all the concepts they will be left behind.

Retired salesman Romel Allen, though he was not aware of Jam-Dex, shared that he doesn’t walk around with cash. “Pure plastic I have!” he said as he laughed.

Most elderly persons that were interviewed stated that they are not aware of Jam-Dex or any other form of digital platforms. Some went on further to stress that anything they need that has to do with a phone, they ask someone much younger than them for assistance.

Lack of knowledge and low digital literacy may lead to a rocky transition for Jamaica in the ever-evolving digital community. A few persons expressed great optimism for the introduction of the digital currency. One such person is Patrena Jones, a student at the Norman Manley Law School, who said, “I believe that once people are educated about it and the entire process is explained thoroughly then they will be more receptive. I think it’s a great move! But you will have those persons who will be sceptical regardless of how it is explained.”

Jackie Sharp, a vice-president of the Private Sector of Jamaica (PSOJ), during a Jamaica Observer Business Forum highlighted that not only is there a lack of trust in the digital space but there are gaps in digital literacy. She explained that the gaps are not only at the consumer level, but they also exist at the business and government levels. She shared that there is a need to create legislation that will allow for the digital things like e-commerce and digital signatures. Legislation (laws) is a significant tool by a government to organise and govern a society and to protect its citizens.

Imega Breese McNab, executive director at PSOJ, added that there is no digital policy in Jamaica that is guiding everything that is happening in the digital space.

“So that is one of the initiatives we are currently involved in because we believe that policy is required. Policy will drive everything forward and we’d have a more coordinated approach to what we’re doing,” she commented.