The central bank of Jamaica announced that it has successfully completed the trial of its central bank digital currency (CBDC).
- The 8 month pilot was initially delayed for unspecified reasons, according to a report from CoinDesk. The announcement does not mention anything about the delay, only stating that the pilot began in May and ended on Dec 31, 2021.
- Jamaica is all set to roll out the CBDC in the first quarter of 2022.
- The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) had been working with Ireland-based technology firm eCurrency Mint on the sandbox project. The scope of the pilot was limited to wallet providers who indicated readiness to participate within the timeframe.
- The National Commercial Bank (NCB) also came onboard to test the range of services which can use the CBDC solution, according to the announcement.
- The services tested included minting J$230 million (circa $1.5 million) worth of digital currency, issuing CBDC to wallet providers such as the BOJ’s banking department (J$1 million worth of CBDC to be distributed to staff). The first issuance of the CBDC to a deposit institution was worth J$5 million and was made to NCB.
- The NCB also onboarded 57 customers who conducted person to person, cash-in and cash-out transactions through 37 accounts. This included transactions with small merchants such as local craft jewellers, footwear designers and fashion and garment boutiques, the BOJ said.
- The rollout will see a continuation of onboarding existing customers and new customers, allowing two additional wallet providers, who are currently conducting testing, to distribute CBDCs to their customers, and the testing of transactions between customers of various participating wallet providers.
