Jamaica will conduct pilot testing of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) in December ahead of its full launch in 2022, said Nigel Clarke, the country’s finance minister.
Speaking to Parliament during the annual budget debates, Clarke noted that the government regards an accelerated transition to a digital society as vital to the economic recovery after the pandemic. The CBDC could broaden access to financial services for residents of the Caribbean who are not served by banking, he added.
Addressing the Speaker of the House, the minister said:
“Therefore, the policy of this government, Madam Speaker, is to introduce a central bank digital currency.”
He stressed that Jamaica’s central bank-issued and supported CBDC is not a cryptocurrency. It will be legal tender, interchangeable with the Jamaican dollar at 1:1.
Earlier, another Caribbean nation, the Bahamas, launched a CBDC in October 2020. The Central Bank of the Bahamas plans to expand the use of Sand Dollar beyond the country.
In February, Mastercard released a debit card supporting Sand Dollar.
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