JAMAICA-Bankers Association hoping for a quick settlement to issues affecting customers

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – President of the Jamaica Bankers Association (JBA) Audrey Tugwell Henry is anticipating an improvement in service to customers soon as financial institutions across the island continue efforts to solve the ongoing issues facing long lines, a shortage of cash and malfunctioning automated banking machines (ABMs).

“We are faced with some unique challenges right now, which we have discussed, and there are several more critical issues, “Mrs Tugwell Henry told Radio Jamaica News.

“However, individual institutions are working to address their unique issues…and so we expect that with all the effort that the players in the industry are placing on experience, customer convenience, and access to cash, that the issues will be resolved over the next few weeks,” she added.

The parliamentary opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has called for the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) to intervene in the growing crisis, accusing the banks of failing to fulfill their obligations to their customers as required by law.

Mrs. Tugwell Henry said while the banks have noted their customers’ frustration and are working to resolve the issues, she is warning that increased vandalism of ABMs will cause further inconvenience to customers.

“What it means is that when an ABM machine is vandalized, it is taken out of commission, and the process to replace it is very long. It also creates an increased operational cost. So vandalism, theft, crime are all controllable, which we are encouraging all Jamaicans to stand up and speak out against these issues,” she told radio listeners.

She also dismissed concerns about the lack of ABMs in some rural parishes, noting, “I do know that as an industry, we have deployed over 900 ABMs right across the island.

“And so there might be a specific community or a specific pocket that doesn’t have ABMs, but broadly speaking, compared to other countries, the ABM distribution is quite significant.

Last week, the BOJ said that in the previous ten workdays of December 2023, it issued currency of $J$24.9 billion (One Jamaica dollar=US$0.008 cents), which was J$19.3 billion more than the J$5.6 billion it redeemed from the financial system during that time.

“This net currency issue of $19.3 billion for the period contributed to an overall growth of J$23.7 billion or 9.3 percent in the currency stock for December 2023 relative to the previous month,” the BOJ noted.