Jamaica continues to make progress in developing the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). In fact, the Bank of Jamaica, or BOJ, recently printed the first batch of CBDCs in the country.

BOJ H officially announced Its CBDC division demonstrated the digital currency minting process at an economic event on Monday.

The digital version of the Jamaican Dollar (JMD) was launched in partnership with Jamaican Finance Minister Nigel Clark, BOJ Governor Richard Byles, senior BOJ executives and a management team from an Irish technology company. E-Currency Mint.

As per the announcement, BOJ plans to provide a total of 230 million JMDs ($ 1.47 million) in the form of CBDCs to accredited depository firms and payment service providers as part of a pilot project ending in December.

Highlighting the crucial role of the island nation in creating the digital economy, Minister Clark commented that the Jamaican government has made rapid progress in developing the country’s digital currency program. The official also said that local lawmakers are working on a legislative amendment to give the Jamaican CBDC a legal basis by the end of 2021.

According to Richard Byles, the next step in adopting CBDC in Jamaica is to ensure that CBDC targets end users with widespread access and acceptance.

The announcement states that the Jamaican CBDC aims to enable a number of benefits for users.An easy way to access efficient and secure payments. […] For Depository Institutions and the BOJ, CBDC represents an opportunity to improve liquidity management processes and costs.“

The latest development is in line with the plans already announced by the BOJ: Governor Byles revealed Initial launch of the Jamaican Digital Currency It was scheduled for August.

Regulated and issued by the BOJ, the country’s CBDC is designed to complement the country’s banknotes, allowing financial institutions to issue currency to private and corporate account holders using a digital token in a 1: 1 ratio.

The news comes amid a growing number of countries working on national CBDC initiatives VenezuelaA CBDC is scheduled to launch in October. According to Friday’s analysis by JP Morgan strategist Josh Younger, CBDCs They will take the risk From “Spaceless commercial banks“Their funding will lead to a loss of 20% or 30% of the base.