Jamaica Plans Digital Marketplace to Trigger CBDC Adoption

Jamaica Observer reported that the CBDC project would improve performance metrics related to JAM-DEX, Jamaica’s central business district, under the leadership of the Ministry of Industry, Investment, and Commerce.

Senator Aubyn Hill, the Minister’s head, confirmed the existence of the digital marketplace at Expo Jamaica 2023. According to him, the new users will be onboarded next week. According to Hill, it has been designed to function as an online marketplace that allows CBDCs to be used as payment methods for goods and services. As a result of creating a national e-commerce platform, the administrations are confident that state-sponsored digital currency adoption will increase.

It is estimated that only a few merchants on the platform are currently active, but Hill maintained that there is a great deal of potential growth when more wallets and merchandisers are brought on board. According to Hill, the project will contribute to including “new, young businesses” in the financial system and provide a healthy level of competition in the marketplace.

“The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce believes that providing the marketplace is the responsibility of the Government of Jamaica, as any marketplace developed by a private sector firm might not be acceptable to other private sector firms,” Hill said.

Developing the marketplace was overseen by a committee of experts in the ITC industry from the private sector, Bank of Jamaica employees and officials from the Ministry of Industry, Investment, and Commerce. John-Matthew Sinclair, Chief Product Officer at Lynk, will lead the development team.

“We’re looking at the technology to overcome the logistics issues…We want to leapfrog the problem of logistics with the use of [the] technology,” Hill noted. 

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