Durrant Pate/Contributor

The Office of Consumer Complaints (OCC) at the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) is reporting a modest decline in the banking complaints received in 2025.

In its 2025 annual report, which was recently tabled in the parliament, the OCC received 443 complaints in 2025, a decline of 4.3 per cent from the 463 at end-2024. The account-related category continued to represent the largest share of overall complaints, which is 45.8 per cent of total complaints this year.

This is up from 41.0 per cent in 2024. Complaints in this category were largely related to challenges associated with the increased use of electronic banking channels as well as issues at ABMs. 

Consistent trend globally

This upward trend is consistent with that observed in the international economy, as with increased digitalisation, there have been higher volumes of complaints related to digital banking services. Notably, in December 2025, the OCC observed a temporary spike in RTGS-related complaints, accounting for approximately 29.0 per cent of all complaints for the month. 

The increase was caused by operational challenges experienced by deposit-taking institutions (DTIs) during the JamClear-RTGS transition to ISO 20022. While the increase was an exceptional issue and not evidence of systemic misconduct, it underscored the importance of stronger change management practices among DTIs. 

For 2025, the fraud/impropriety category remained the second largest source of complaints, with 93 cases (21.0 per cent of total complaints). This figure was, however, lower than the 103 complaints reported in 2024 (31.0 per cent of total complaints). 

The continued decline in this category was consistent with enhanced supervisory engagement by the BOJ in relation to licensees’ AML/CFT/CPF frameworks.

Loan-related complaints

There were 87 loan-related complaints in 2025 (about 20.0 per cent of complaints), representing a modest increase over the 2024 figure. An analysis of these complaints highlighted the need for ongoing supervisory focus on lending practices, loan restructuring and the management of repayment difficulties. 

The OCC continued to facilitate the resolution of complaints submitted during the review year. Preliminary data pertaining to the resolution rate of complaints recorded an increase to 84.0% at the end of 2025, up from 57.4 per cent at end-2024.

This improvement reflected more consistent follow-up and clearer communication with DTI’s regarding their complaint resolution rates. As the OCC transitions to its expanded role encompassing both complaint handling and broader market conduct supervision.

Resolution rate refers to the rate at which DTIs have successfully responded to and concluded a matter with the customer.