In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, effective today, Wednesday, 11 August 2021, Bank of Jamaica will temporarily suspend the offering of teller services until Friday, August 13, 2021. Please be reminded that coin exchange services have been suspended since August 2020. In this regard, we therefore recommend that for the exchange of foreign currencies and other banking services, the...

The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service will be staging its inaugural Wealth Summit next week Wednesday (August 18). The summit is the first in a quarterly series and is aimed at helping Jamaicans identify solutions that will improve their lives and find financial security during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also aimed at improving the financial literacy of...

At a short ceremony this morning, Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) minted Jamaica’s first batch of central bank digital currency (CBDC).   A total of J$230 million dollars in CBDC will be issued to deposit-taking institutions and authorized payment service providers during the CBDC pilot exercise which ends in December. BOJ’s CBDC team demonstrated the process of minting digital currency during...

A total of €30 million (approximately US$35 million) in concessional funding support is being provided to bolster the response of the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB’s) 19 borrowing member countries (BMCs), including Jamaica, to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The funds are intended to assist beneficiary countries in accessing and deploying COVID-19 vaccines and strengthening the capacity of their health services to...

The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service is looking to provide the Auditor General’s (AG) Department with resources to conduct outstanding audits of State entities lagging in the submission of annual reports to Parliament. Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says he has been in dialogue with Auditor General, Pamela Monroe Ellis, regarding the development of a project...

The House of Representatives on Tuesday (July 13) approved the withdrawal of $255.69 million from the Capital Development Fund (CDF) to provide budgetary support to the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) for the 2021/22 financial year. In his remarks, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, said the JBI was established by the Government in 1975...

Bank of Jamaica (the Bank) is reminding the public of the potential risks of using or investing in cryptocurrencies, as stated in previous advisories from the Bank. Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that are not issued or guaranteed by a central bank or a monetary authority. In addition, cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Jamaica. Bank of Jamaica does not regulate...