A statement from the bank stated that the Central Bank of Jamaica has successfully completed a pilot test of its central bank’s digital currency. However, the statement revealed that only one payment service provider participated in the pilot.

Only one payment provider participated in the pilot

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) recently revealed that it has successfully completed the trial of its central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Bank of Japan’s claim was filed after the completion of the eight-month trial operation that began in May 2021.

However, in a statement According to the news released by the Bank of Japan on the last day of 2021, only one institution participated in the pilot. The statement explained:

The scope of the CBDC pilot is limited to wallet providers who have expressed their willingness to participate within a predetermined time frame.National Commercial Bank [NCB] Based on their experience in sandboxing, the Bank of Japan joined the Bank of Japan to test the range of services provided by the CBDC solution.

The statement also explained that the success of the pilot project “depends on the successful implementation of CBDC and subsequent technical solutions in Jamaica.”

Casting USD 230 million worth of CBDC

The statement showed that three activities were completed during the pilot phase. The first of these activities is to forge a USD 230 million CBDC, which “will be issued to depository institutions and authorized payment service providers.” On the day after the digital currency was minted on August 9, 2021, the Bank of Japan continued to issue USD 1 million worth of CBDC and distribute it to bank employees.

Next, on October 29, 2021, a CBDC worth approximately US$5 million was issued to NCB, which marked the first issuance of CBDC to a depository institution in Jamaica. After receiving the digital currency, NCB “successfully settled in 57 customers, including 4 small merchants and 53 consumers.”

In turn, these 57 customers continued to conduct person-to-person, cash in and out transactions through “37 accounts”, and completed transactions with small merchants (local craft jewelers, shoe designers, and fashion and clothing boutiques) through NCB. -The “Lawn Market” event held in early December 2021. “

At the same time, the statement indicated that the nationwide promotion of CBDC is planned to begin in the first quarter of 2022. During this period, NCB-the only authorized payment service provider participating in the testing phase-“will continue to join existing customers and new customers.” At the same time, two other wallet providers “will be able to order CBDC from the Bank of Japan and will It distributes to their customers.”

The statement added that testing will also be conducted during this period to determine the interoperability of transactions between customers of participating wallet providers.

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Terence Zinwara

Terence Zimwara is an award-winning journalist, writer and writer from Zimbabwe. He has written a lot of articles about the economic difficulties of some African countries and how digital currencies can provide a way out for Africans.