Bank of Jamaica Partners with eCurrency Mint on CBDC Project

Jamaica has revealed plans to partner with crypto company eCurrency Mint to pilot its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project. The Jamaican Central Bank began the search for a partner on the CBDC project last year. At the time, it was looking to collaborate with technology firms to develop and test the potential CBDC solutions in its sandbox. 

Now, the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) said the CBDC project would begin in May through December. 

The BoJ announced its new partnership with eCurrency Mint in a press release published on the 23rd of March:

“After an extensive procurement process, eCurrency Mint has chosen to support us in testing the CBDC solution in the Bank’s Fintech Regulatory Sandbox between May and December 2021. eCurrency Mint will also be the sole provider when the national CBDC roll-out begins in early 2022.”

Several central banks globally have been working towards the launch of the CBDCs. Already, countries like China and Japan have gone far with the development and have started issuing digital currencies in trial stages. 

Apart from the BoJ, eCurrency Mint has also worked with other central banks like the Bank of Ireland on their CBDC project. 

As Jamaica partners on its CBDC, the BoJ expects that the country’s digital currency will be available for official roll-out early next year. 

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