An official announcement by the Jamaica Information Service states that the Bank of Jamaica has completed piloting its Central Bank Digital Currency, (CBDC).
The BOJ announced a test phase in March 2021, and began the pilot program in May. It has now completed the test. The announcement stated that the BOJ held its inaugural minting ceremony on 9 August 2021. It minted $230 Million worth of CBDC. The assets were minted for deposit-taking institutions and authorized payment service providers.
The BOJ distributed $1 million worth CBDC to its Banking Department within the next day. It had issued $5 million of assets to the National Commercial Bank (NCB) by October 29, 2021. This was its first issue to a deposit-taking institution.
According to the BOJ’s announcement, a nationwide roll-out is planned for the first quarter 2022. The NCB will begin to onboard existing and new customers for CBDC support when the rollout starts. Two wallet providers currently in simulation testing will be able receive CBDC from BOJ and issue CBDC to customers.
