Jamaican legislators have drawn the attention of the government that the proposed digital Jamaican dollar circulation scheme does not allow it to be used for international transactions.
While discussing the amendments to the Bank of Jamaica Act, which establishes the legal basis for the national deployment of digital currency as legal tender, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith stated that at this stage of development, the state-owned cryptocurrency (CBDC) can only be considered as a tool for local transactions, not international platforms.
The Bank of Jamaica previously notified the public of the limited options available for the Digital Jamaican Dollar (JAM-DEX) offering while the project is being phased out and amendments to the Bank of Jamaica Act are agreed. For now, only the National Commercial Bank (NCB) offers JAM-DEX through its Lynk digital wallet. Other digital wallet providers are currently being evaluated in the bank's regulatory sandbox.
“The proposed CBDC circulation model is legally limited to domestic transactions, which does not allow the use of digital currency in international settlements,” Smith explained.
However, the very initiative of the Bank of Jamaica and the NCB, according to the senator, proved to be successful and indicates a significant public interest in the JAM-DEX deployment model. She stressed that the state cryptocurrency is another level of state protection in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
A pilot project to test the digital Jamaican dollar was launched by the Central Bank of Jamaica in conjunction with the National Commercial Bank in August last year.
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