Jamaican taxi drivers bullish on accepting Jam-Dex CBDC
Bus and taxi operators in Jamaica are eager to use the country’s in-house central bank digital currency (CBDC) — Jam-Dex — as locals seek operational efficiencies and reduced costs and security risks.
The Central Bank of Jamacia launched Jam-Dex, short for Jamaican Digital Exchange, in 2022, which was supported by an airdrop event to expedite its widespread adoption. More recently, Aldo Antonio, co-founder and acting executive chairman of the National Transporters Alliance Group (NTAG), revealed his efforts to spread Jam-Dex adoption among the transport community.
According to a local report from the Jamaica Observer, Antonio sees a lower curiosity in CBDCs among bus and taxi drivers — primarily due to a sluggish adoption rate among vendors and consumers. Regardless, Antonio remains optimistic:
In order to make Jam-Dex feasible, Antonio believes Jamaica needs more customers willing to use the CBDC. Failure to attract customers will discourage merchants and eventually result in the total abandonment of digital currency.
According to Antonio, food and transportation are the two main verticals that can increase the day-to-day Jam-Dex usage. He added:
Moreover, CBDC’s widespread adoption eradicates the drivers’ concerns related to carrying cash or giving back the exact change. Jamaica is currently working toward enabling the CBDC services on mobile phones of the general public. “With that happening and training happening, then the sector could be in a position by January, if not before, to be able to accept Jam-Dex-type payments,” Antonio concluded.
An estimated 25,000–30,000 transport owners reside in Jamaica, who can help expand Jam-Dex’s reach beyond the existing 10,000 vendors with 200,000 people who use the CBDC through the
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