About
JAM-DEX is Jamaica's retail central bank digital currency, issued and backed by the Bank of Jamaica. It was first minted in August 2021 and became legal tender in June 2022. The BOJ issues it to deposit-taking institutions, which distribute it through their own phone wallets: NCB's Lynk came first, JN Bank's JN Pay opened to the public in January 2025, and Sagicor Bank was onboarded in 2023 but had not launched publicly by end-2025. Holders pay other wallet users and listed merchants, and Tax Administration Jamaica accepts it for traffic tickets, vehicle fitness fees and property tax. At end-2024 there were 282,274 registered wallet users.
Adoption has stalled: the Bank of Jamaica acknowledged in 2024 that JAM-DEX uptake had not materialised, only ~2,379 merchants were enrolled by Sept 2024, circulation reached just J$257m driven by government handouts rather than demand, and NCB - the sole wallet provider - has publicly questioned its progress.
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