JN Bank only one thus far to be retrofitting its POS system to accept JAM-DEX 

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor Richard Byles is leaving the institution later this year with several highs and lows under his belt, with his biggest disappointment being the low adoption of JAM-DEX, the banks’ digital currency.

Responding to questions from Our Today at the BOJ’s Quarterly News Briefing in Mandeville on Tuesday, Byles cited his greatest achievement as leading the BOJ’s transition into a truly independent Central Bank. Arguing that the wider adoption of Jam-Dex remains one of the unfinished ambitions he would have liked to see realised before leaving office in August, when his contract expires, having been appointed August 19, 2019.

It was disclosed at the briefing that Jamaica National Bank is set to become the first deposit-taking institution (DTI) to retrofit its point-of-sale (POS) machines to facilitate JAM-DEX transactions by July this year. The Governor openly expressed his disappointment at the other DTI’s, which have been lingering in having this done after more than two years of waiting.

Biggest disappointment as BOJ Governor

This, he cited as one of his most disappointed experience as BOJ Governor. Our Today asked the Governor Byles whether the BOJ has or will be extending to JN Bank the BOJ’s offer to underwrite up to 50% of the cost to retrofit their POS; he answered in the affirmative, explaining that while it hasn’t been done as yet but will in fact happen in the coming weeks.

“I would have liked to have seen JAM-DEX be more successful; we continue to knock at the door at the commercial banks to get their POS machines retrofitted. I would count that as a disappointment that it has taken years to get the banks to make that transition,” Byles lamented.

The slow roll-out reflects concerns which the Governor has repeatedly raised about the banking sector’s pace in upgrading their digital payment infrastructure. The BOJ has reportedly received timelines and costings from several other DTIs regarding retrofitting their POS machines, indicative of some traction for retrofitting but the pace of implementation remains slow. 

The BOJ boss argued that Jamaica is capable of transitioning more transactions into the digital space once the supporting infrastructure is established, pointing to countries such as Brazil, where roughly 70 per cent of smaller transactions are now completed digitally with Jamaica being in a most advantageous position given its widespread use of smartphones and the fact that Jam-Dex is phone-based.

BOJ independent transitioning

Describing the independent transitioning of the BOJ, as one of the defining accomplishments of his tenure, Byles remarked, “Leading the BOJ as an independent central bank has been a profound experience. That changed in 2022, and all of our operational tasks and activities became independent of Government at that time, so it’s been quite an experience to run the central bank in Jamaica for the first time in an independent fashion.” 

He acknowledged that his tenure spanned several major global and domestic disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the post-pandemic inflation surge, supply chain disruptions, the Russia-Ukraine war, Middle East tensions and Hurricane Melissa. Despite the challenges, Byles credited the central bank’s staff for helping the institution navigate periods of uncertainty.

The BOJ boss also emphasised that during his tenure, Jamaica strengthened its inflation-targeting framework under an independent monetary policy regime, maintaining a target range of 4 to 6 per cent.