By the end of the first quarter of 2022, the Caribbean island hopes to have a countrywide CBDC.
When the country’s central bank successfully completed the first pilot test in early January, central bank digital currency (CBDC) became a big thing in Jamaica.
Andrew Holness, the country’s prime minister, expressed confidence in CBDC acceptance in the country after the tests.
Within five years, Holness predicted that the majority of Jamaicans would adopt the digital currency, with over 70 per cent of the population using the CBDC. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness emphasised the CBDC’s lower banking costs and inclusion, saying that the digital currency would improve government transparency by making it easier to track public funds.
Andrew Holness also stated:
“We need to figure out how to make digital devices and the internet more accessible to people in general.”
With one of the first statewide pilot projects in the world, the Bank of Jamaica, the country’s central bank, has been a leader in CBDC activities.
The central bank also intends to test transactions between clients of different wallet providers to ensure compatibility.
That’s all from Jamaica for now.
