The Bank of Jamaica is testing a real-time central bank digital currency (CBDC).
On August 9, the Central Bank of Jamaica released the first units of its CBDC.
This morning, in a short ceremony, the Bank of Jamaica minted the first batch of Jamaica's central bank digital currency
The issue was 230 million Jamaican dollars ($1.5 million). The pilot project will last until the end of December. Several local banks and payment companies will participate.
The bank confirmed that its digital currency will operate on the existing centralized architecture of the eCurrency payment system, rather than via blockchain. Issuance and distribution will be “fully integrated” with the central bank’s real-time gross settlement system JamClear.
Jamaica has opted for a “hybrid” CBDC model. The central bank issues currency to financial firms, which then make it available to customers in retail form. Not only banks, but also wider depository institutions and PSPs will be able to offer customers retail accounts to use CBDC. Bank of Jamaica says the process of opening these accounts will be “much simpler” than opening a standard bank account, with simplified KYC requirements.
The final launch and implementation of the digital currency is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2022.
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