分类： business

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica is actively engaged in diplomatic and technical discussions with multiple countries — including India — as it works to build a unified digital payment infrastructure aimed at expanding access to cashless transactions across the island nation, Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness announced Thursday.

Holness made the disclosure during the Recover Better Conference, a one-day action-focused summit hosted by the Jamaican Consulate General in New York that centers on strengthening the country’s post-disaster recovery and long-term economic resilience. The conversation came as the prime minister addressed audience questions about the current state of mobile banking penetration in Jamaica.

The core goal of expanding digital payment access, Holness emphasized, is to reduce the share of Jamaicans who remain locked out of formal financial services, commonly referred to as the unbanked population. He noted that a surprising gap separates Jamaica’s economic standing from its digital payment performance: many nations with lower per capita gross domestic product than Jamaica have achieved far higher rates of digital payment adoption, even among residents who do not hold traditional commercial bank accounts.

“While Jamaica boasts a higher share of banked adults than many peer economies, that share still falls short of our national goals, and the rate of active digital payment use remains stubbornly low,” Holness explained. “That is the core challenge we are working to address.”

As one of a small handful of countries globally to launch a central bank digital currency, Jamaica already has experience with digital financial innovation through its JAMDEX CBDC project. But Holness openly acknowledged that the initiative has not gained the widespread public and commercial adoption that government leaders initially projected.

Two major bottlenecks are holding back faster growth, the prime minister explained. First, the country’s established banking sector has been slow to make the full capital investments required to support widespread digital payment rollout. Upgrading infrastructure to support cashless transactions — including installing widespread point-of-sale terminals at retail locations, issuing contactless payment cards to account holders, and updating backend processing systems — represents a major upfront capital commitment that banks have been reluctant to absorb quickly.

Second, Jamaica currently lacks a unified interoperability platform that allows multiple independent digital payment systems to transact with one another seamlessly. While policymakers support a competitive market with multiple private and public payment providers, a shared connecting layer is required to ensure users can send and receive payments across different services without friction, Holness noted.

To solve this interoperability gap, Jamaica has already entered into preliminary discussions with Indian officials to explore adopting India’s proven unified payment platform architecture, the prime minister confirmed.

Jamaica does already have a basic infrastructure connecting all of the country’s automated teller machines, but Holness said the network requires additional capital investment to expand access and support full digital payment interoperability. Government officials are currently in talks with domestic banks to secure the funding needed to upgrade this existing framework.

Additionally, the Bank of Jamaica has established a regulatory sandbox to allow digital payment providers to test new services and secure regulatory approval in a controlled environment. Even with this supportive policy in place, however, Holness admitted that the approval and scaling process for new mobile payment systems has proceeded far slower than anticipated.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — One year after first bringing Guangzhou Automobile Corporation (GAC) vehicles to Jamaican consumers, local automotive distributor Fidelity Motors Limited is scaling up its footprint in the market by rolling out the Chinese automaker’s full product portfolio. Long recognized as Jamaica’s exclusive distributor for Nissan Motor Company vehicles, Fidelity unveiled six all-new GAC models to the public Wednesday at the National Indoor Sports Centre, headlined by the regional debut of the S7 five-seater plug-in hybrid SUV.

This expansion comes on the heels of stronger-than-expected early consumer adoption following GAC’s official launch in the Jamaican market in late 2025. The move is a strategic response to shifting buyer priorities across Jamaica’s automotive landscape, as Fidelity moves to diversify its offering to match evolving local demand.

The Jamaican market expansion aligns with GAC’s rapid global growth trajectory. Last month alone, the automaker logged 42,165 units sold worldwide, marking an 86% year-over-year increase that has provided solid momentum for its ongoing expansion into Caribbean emerging markets.

Alan Bayne, Chief Executive of the Goddard Enterprises Limited Auto Division — parent group of Fidelity Motors — noted that GAC’s growing local appeal is anchored by its industry-leading residual value. Citing a February 2026 automotive industry analysis, Bayne shared that GAC ranks first among all Chinese auto brands for three-year resale value, a metric that holds major weight for local consumers. “That will provide much comfort to the Jamaican car buyer,” Bayne commented at the launch event.

Deborah Stewart, General Manager of Fidelity Motors, explained that modern Jamaican car buyers are prioritizing more than just affordable pricing. Today, consumers are actively seeking advanced in-vehicle technology, top-tier safety ratings, and refined overall driving performance — needs the expanded GAC lineup is built to address. “The response since our introduction late last year has been extremely encouraging,” Stewart said, adding that the full product rollout is designed to cater to buyer demand across every major automotive segment.

Currently, GAC’s Jamaican product range covers all major powertrain categories, from traditional internal combustion engines to hybrid and fully electric models. Existing offerings include the GS3 Emzoom compact SUV, Emkoo mid-size SUV, GS8 full-size SUV, Empow performance sedan, and the all-electric AION V crossover. The newly launched S7 plug-in hybrid rounds out this portfolio, packing a 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain that delivers a combined driving range of up to 1,150 kilometres on a full tank and full charge. It also comes standard with cutting-edge driver-assistance technology, including map-free autonomous driving capabilities.

GAC’s regional expansion across the Caribbean is supported by a partnership with regional distributor Motorworld, alongside longstanding global supply agreements with top-tier automotive component manufacturers including Bosch, Denso and Michelin.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, China’s Ambassador to Jamaica Wang Jinfeng framed GAC’s growing presence in Jamaica as a visible reflection of the deepening economic partnership between the two countries, particularly in the areas of cross-border investment and clean automotive technology. The launch event brought together key stakeholders from across the regional automotive industry, with leadership from Fidelity, GEL Auto Division, Motorworld and the Chinese embassy in attendance to mark the milestone of GAC’s full lineup rollout.

Against the backdrop of ongoing post-disaster reconstruction in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica’s national development finance institution took center stage at a one-day New York recovery forum to showcase its work and rally global support for the island nation’s long-term resilience goals.

Hosted by the Jamaican Consulate General in New York, the Recover Better Conference convened diaspora representatives, international investors, and key industry stakeholders to mobilize three core resources for Jamaica’s rebuilding: targeted capital, specialized expertise, and cross-sector collaborative partnerships. The event placed specific focus on the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), spotlighting its existing work in post-disaster reconstruction and economic transformation while generating new interest in partnerships to advance national recovery.

In his opening remarks on DBJ’s role, Managing Director Dr. David Lowe stressed that collective partnership forms the backbone of effective post-crisis recovery, singling out the Jamaican diaspora as an underutilized catalyst for accelerated progress. “Partnership is non-negotiable for meaningful recovery,” Dr. Lowe stated in an official press release distributed Friday. “The Jamaican diaspora holds unique stakes and capabilities in this work, and DBJ stands ready to act as their dedicated partner to direct investment toward high-impact opportunities that restore livelihoods and secure Jamaica’s long-term economic prosperity. All stakeholders must step forward to build a robust ecosystem that supports solution-focused, resilient national development.”

During its formal presentation at the conference, DBJ outlined its comprehensive, innovative framework for recovery financing that positions the institution as more than a traditional lender: it operates as a strategic catalyst for sustainable, inclusive growth. Unlike standard development banks that rely solely on debt instruments, DBJ combines a flexible mix of loans, equity stakes, grant funding, credit guarantees, and hands-on technical support to close persistent financing gaps, unlock private sector expansion, and build a solution-oriented development pathway that serves all stakeholders.

A core pillar of DBJ’s current recovery intervention is targeted support for Jamaica’s agricultural sector, which suffered some of the most severe damage from recent climate-driven disasters. Over the past financial year, the bank has approved roughly $9.3 million in dedicated loans for agricultural operations and agribusinesses, supporting hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises across the island. This financing has helped restore lost production capacity, reinforce national food security systems, and stabilize incomes for thousands of households dependent on the agricultural sector.

DBJ also highlighted the early successes of its signature M5 Business Recovery Programme, a structured initiative designed to support struggling enterprises through a holistic package of credit access, direct grants, loan restructuring, and collateral assistance. With $63 million in total financing allocated to the program and robust demand across multiple sectors of the economy, M5 has emerged as a critical lifeline that helps businesses stabilize operations, rebuild damaged infrastructure, and scale for long-term growth while embedding innovative resilience strategies to weather future shocks.

To deepen engagement with diaspora stakeholders, Nicola Russell, manager of DBJ’s public-private partnership and privatisation division, joined a conference panel focused on expanding diaspora participation through investment, volunteerism, skills sharing, and philanthropy. During the discussion, Russell outlined a pipeline of investable public-private partnership and privatisation (PPP&P) opportunities open to external stakeholders, emphasizing that diaspora members and the wider global investment community can deliver tangible impact for Jamaica’s reconstruction and long-term development. She also noted that leveraging diaspora networks and on-the-ground expertise is key to advancing productive dialogue and unlocking transformative capital for large-scale PPP projects.

The conference featured a headline keynote address from Jamaican Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness, who presented the government’s official vision for the country’s recovery in a talk titled “Building Back Better: Jamaica’s Vision for National Recovery and Resilience.” Holness underscored the critical importance of coordinated national action, strategic targeted investment, and cross-stakeholder partnerships to advance ongoing reconstruction and build systemic national resilience.

Beyond its immediate post-Hurricane Melissa recovery work, DBJ used the conference to outline its broader national mandate, which includes supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), mobilizing private domestic and international capital, and advancing large-scale infrastructure development through public-private partnerships. Through these integrated efforts, the bank reaffirmed its commitment to serving as a strategic partner for all stakeholders, working to build a resilient, inclusive, and solution-driven economic future for all Jamaicans.