JAM-DEX Is Quietly Growing. Jamaican Businesses Should Pay Attention.

For a while, JAM-DEX was something many Jamaican businesses could comfortably watch from the sidelines.

That may be starting to change.

According to a recent Jamaica Observer report, transactions using Jamaica’s central bank digital currency reached $51.7 million between January and July 2026. That compares with $19.3 million for the whole of 2025 and approximately $3 million in 2024.

JAM-DEX also reportedly has around 320,000 subscribers. More importantly for businesses, Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) expects roughly 40 per cent of point-of-sale locations across Jamaica to be capable of accepting JAM-DEX by the first half of 2027.

That does not mean cash is disappearing.

It does mean another way of moving Jamaican dollars is becoming harder for businesses to ignore.

First, JAM-DEX is not cryptocurrency

This distinction matters.

JAM-DEX is Jamaica’s Central Bank Digital Currency. It is issued by Bank of Jamaica, is legal tender and can be exchanged one-for-one with Jamaican banknotes and coins. It is held in a digital wallet rather than a traditional bank account.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are fundamentally different. They are not issued by Jamaica’s central bank and their values can fluctuate significantly.

In simple terms, J$1,000 in JAM-DEX is still J$1,000 Jamaican dollars. It is simply being held and transferred digitally.

For businesses, that distinction brings the conversation back to something very familiar: accounting.

Your customer pays with JAM-DEX. What happens next?

Imagine a customer walks into your business, purchases $25,000 worth of goods or services and pays using JAM-DEX.

The sale itself is straightforward.

But your finance team still needs to properly record the revenue, identify the payment method, reconcile the transaction and maintain the supporting documentation.

Now multiply that by hundreds or thousands of transactions.

As Jamaica adds more payment options, businesses may find themselves reconciling cash, debit and credit cards, bank transfers, online payment gateways and digital wallets.

That makes good accounting systems and reconciliation procedures even more important, not less.

Digital payments can make transactions faster. They do not eliminate the need for accurate books.

Then there is the control question

There is another issue companies should consider.

Who controls the company’s digital wallet?

If JAM-DEX becomes a meaningful payment channel for a business, management may eventually need policies around who can access the wallet, who can authorise transfers, how transactions are reviewed and how balances are reconciled.

Giving one employee unrestricted access to a company’s digital funds without adequate oversight would create many of the same internal-control risks businesses already face with online banking.

The technology may be new. The accounting principles are not.

Companies still need segregation of duties, approval limits, documentation and regular reconciliations.

JAM-DEX may also have a bigger role than retail payments

One of the more interesting developments is what JAM-DEX could mean during emergencies.

BOJ officials have discussed the possibility of using Jamaica’s digital-payment infrastructure to distribute funds more quickly following hurricanes and other disasters.

The conversation has taken on greater significance following Hurricane Melissa, when damage to banking infrastructure in western Jamaica disrupted normal financial services. BOJ has said digital infrastructure could eventually allow properly registered recipients to receive assistance much more quickly.

For businesses, this points to a much wider shift.

Jamaica is gradually building a financial environment in which money can move through more digital channels, even when traditional methods become difficult to access.

That has implications for business continuity, payroll, collections, supplier payments and cash management.

Should every Jamaican business rush to JAM-DEX?

Not necessarily.

Adoption still has some way to go. BOJ itself has identified limited merchant acceptance and the number of available wallet providers as barriers to wider usage. At present, only two wallet providers offer JAM-DEX, although additional providers and greater point-of-sale acceptance are expected.

The more useful question for management is:

If JAM-DEX becomes another normal way for customers to pay us, are we prepared for it?

Businesses do not need to predict whether JAM-DEX will eventually rival cash or cards.

They simply need financial systems flexible enough to adapt when the way Jamaicans pay changes.

Because whether the payment comes through cash, card, bank transfer or a digital Jamaican dollar, one thing remains the same:

Your books still need to account for every dollar.

Charles O’Connor Consulting Network helps businesses strengthen their accounting systems, financial processes and internal controls as the way companies operate continues to evolve.

Visit cocnjamaica.com to learn more.