The government is offering $2500 in JAM-DEX – that’s Jamaica’s new digital currency, to anyone who opens a digital wallet. But if you’ve been wondering how this digital currency and wallet work, you’re not alone. Luckily, you have me!

What is a digital wallet?
By Kalilah Reynolds

The government is offering $2500 in JAM-DEX – that’s Jamaica’s new digital currency, to anyone who opens a digital wallet. If you’ve been wondering how this digital currency and wallet work, you’re not alone.

You may have seen the logo going around for the new digital currency called JAM-DEX. It’s an ackee design that has a kind of digital look. JAM-DEX is the digital version of the Jamaican dollar.

It’s exactly like physical money, except it can not be held in your hand. If you have been wondering how it is different from making a bank transfer, an important part of the difference is – no fees!

If I’m paying you cash for a service, I don’t pay a transfer fee right? Well it should be the same with JAM-DEX. It’s just like a hand to hand transaction, but it’s phone to phone.

During his budget presentation on March 8, Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke demonstrated how he used JAM-DEX to pay his barber instantly. The minister Dr. Clarke used a digital wallet to make the transfer.

A digital wallet is a software-based system that securely stores users’ payment information and passwords for numerous payment methods and websites. Users can complete purchases easily and quickly with near-field communications technology.

You don’t need a bank account to have a digital wallet and you don’t even need internet or data to use it. It works using the telecommunication system. You will need a smartphone to use the wallet app.

Currently, the only digital wallet available is NCB’s Lynk app. However, Minister Clarke says JAM-DEX will be available later this year through other digital wallets from other financial institutions, and not just banks! Remittance providers, for example, will be involved in providing access to digital wallets. I’m not sure about whether they will be inter-operable, which will be key to the success of JAM-DEX, but we’ll find out more as the roll-out continues. I will be interviewing BOJ Deputy Governor, Natalie Haynes, on Taking Stock soon.

Digital wallets can be used in conjunction with mobile payment systems to allow you to pay for purchases with their smartphones. It serves anyone with a smartphone who would like to do business with it. And there are so many benefits. It’s cashless, instant, convenient, mobile and secure. You don’t have to walk with a lot of cash, which makes you vulnerable to robbery. And also if you forgot to carry cash, you can always just whip out your digital wallet.
Meanwhile, the Government is giving the first one hundred thousand people who sign up after April 1, $2500 in JAM-DEX to add to your new digital wallet.
That’s digital cash that you can spend on basically anything. So where can you spend it? Well, the more people that adopt it, the more places you’ll be able to use it, which is why the Government is giving this incentive to get more people to start using it.

Categories: MoneyMondaysJA