Jamaica’s Payment System Reaches New Heights in July 2025 as RTGS Tops J$15.5 Trillion

• RTGS settlements hit J$15.53 trillion across 2.96 million transactions
• July alone generated J$2.55 trillion in high-value interbank payments
• Electronic payments surpass 125 million transactions by end of July
• POS terminal network expands to 33,787, up 192 from June
• ABM cash withdrawals rise to J$108.23 billion in July
• USD dual-currency cards stabilise at 38,360 after June’s sharp fall

Jamaica’s payment infrastructure recorded its strongest month of 2025 in July, with RTGS settlements exceeding J$2.5 trillion in a single month, electronic payment volumes crossing the 125 million mark year-to-date, and the POS merchant network continuing its sustained expansion across the island.

Jamaica’s high-value payment system processed a cumulative J$15,532.04 billion through the JAMCLEAR Real-Time Gross Settlement system across 2,957,392 transactions in the first seven months of 2025, according to data published in the Bank of Jamaica’s Payment System Data Bulletin for July 2025. Subtracting the January-to-June cumulative of J$12,979.13 billion implies July-only RTGS activity of approximately J$2,552.91 billion — the largest single-month RTGS figure in the 2025 series and a marked step up from June’s implied J$2,070 billion.

The acceleration in July RTGS volumes likely reflects the seasonal characteristics of mid-year financial activity in Jamaica: tax payments, quarterly corporate settlements, government disbursements, and interbank liquidity adjustments that cluster around the third month of the calendar quarter. RTGS transactions are by definition large-value, high-priority payments — the kind that cannot wait and that underpin the daily functioning of Jamaica’s financial system, from bond coupon payments to interbank funding transactions to large commercial property and business settlements.

Securities Market Records Strong Half-Plus

The JAMCLEAR Central Securities Depository settled 67,515 transactions through July 2025, with a combined Jamaica dollar value of J$8,016.28 billion and a US dollar equivalent of US$1,773.61 million. The transaction mix shows a balanced spread across the primary market (9,209 primary issues), repos (8,292), reverse repos (8,186), delivery-versus-payment transactions (9,023), and free-of-payment transfers (5,824) — reflecting the full range of government securities market activity from new issuance through secondary trading and collateralised lending.

The repo and reverse repo volumes are of particular interest from a monetary policy perspective. These transactions represent the mechanism through which the Bank of Jamaica manages system liquidity — absorbing excess funds through repos and injecting liquidity through reverse repos when needed. A combined 16,478 repo-type transactions through July reflects active open market operations and suggests that managing Jamaica’s monetary environment has required sustained engagement from the central bank throughout the first seven months of the year.

Electronic Payments Cross 125 Million Milestone

Jamaica dollar electronic payments reached 125,273,960 transactions through July 2025, with a total value of J$3,706.35 billion. US dollar electronic payments added a further 33,769,410 transactions worth US$2,346.68 million. Together, these figures represent the aggregate digital payment activity of Jamaica’s households and businesses through seven months of the year, covering ACH transfers, direct debits, bill payments, mobile money transactions, and electronic credit transfers.

Crossing 125 million electronic transactions by the end of July — a pace of approximately 17.9 million per month — puts Jamaica on track for a full-year total approaching 215 million electronic payment events. This would represent a substantial volume for an economy of Jamaica’s size, and reflects the broad-based adoption of digital payment methods across income groups, business types, and geographic regions. The average monthly transaction rate has been rising steadily through the year, with July’s implied monthly contribution of approximately 18.8 million JMD electronic transactions marginally above the earlier monthly run rate.

July Consumer Payment Activity: ABMs and POS

Jamaica dollar ABM withdrawals in July 2025 reached 5.84 million transactions with a total value of J$108.23 billion — up from June’s 5.47 million transactions and J$98.27 billion. The month-on-month increase in both volume and value suggests a seasonal uptick in cash demand during the summer months, consistent with school holiday spending, domestic tourism activity, and the general consumption patterns associated with the July-August peak period in Jamaica. The average withdrawal amount in July was approximately J$18,531, somewhat higher than June’s J$17,960, again suggesting a marginal increase in the per-transaction cash demand.

US dollar ABM withdrawals totalled 95,770 transactions worth US$26.06 million in July, modestly above June’s 91,830 transactions and US$24.23 million. The slight increase in foreign-currency cash demand at ABMs during July is consistent with increased travel activity and the higher number of visitors and returning residents who access USD cash from dedicated foreign-currency dispensing machines at airports, hotels, and urban banking centres.

POS spending in Jamaica dollars reached 7.84 million transactions valued at J$102.94 billion in July — up from June’s 7.31 million transactions and J$101.76 billion. The increase in transaction volume while value remained broadly stable implies a slight reduction in the average POS ticket size, from June’s approximately J$13,920 to July’s J$13,130 — perhaps reflecting a seasonal mix shift towards smaller, higher-frequency consumer purchases during the summer period. US dollar POS transactions jumped to 331,540 worth US$59.32 million, a significant increase from June’s 292,330 transactions and US$51.51 million, consistent with elevated foreign visitor spending at Jamaica’s tourism establishments during the summer peak season.

POS Network Grows to 33,787 Terminals

At end-July 2025, Jamaica’s POS terminal network stood at 33,787 — an increase of 192 machines from the 33,595 recorded at end-June. The consistent monthly additions to the network, which has grown steadily from the 33,311 recorded at end-May through the summer months, indicate that merchant investment in card acceptance infrastructure has not paused during the busy summer period. This is a positive signal: merchants are adding terminals because they are confident that card spending volumes will continue to grow, a self-reinforcing dynamic that benefits consumers and merchants alike.

Network growth of this pace — adding roughly 150 to 300 terminals per month — would, if sustained, result in Jamaica’s POS infrastructure reaching approximately 35,000 terminals before the end of 2025. Broader terminal coverage means more opportunities for consumers to choose card payments over cash, accelerating the digital payment adoption trajectory that the Bank of Jamaica has been tracking as part of its financial system modernisation mandate.

USD Dual-Currency Cards Stabilise After June’s Drop

One of the more closely watched data points following the anomalous June reading is the position of USD dual-currency cards. In July 2025, the count stood at 38,360 — a modest increase of 373 from June’s 37,987, but still dramatically below the 45,630 recorded at end-May. The partial rebound in July — rather than a full restoration to pre-June levels — suggests that the June decline was not purely a data correction or reporting anomaly but may reflect a genuine structural change in the product landscape.

The most plausible interpretation, in the absence of bank-specific disclosure, is that a major issuer migrated a portion of its dual-currency card holders to a different product category, either a standard USD credit card or a digital-native foreign currency wallet. The 7,270 cards that have not returned to the dual-currency count since the May peak may therefore not have disappeared from the foreign-currency access ecosystem but rather been recategorised within it. Subsequent months will clarify whether the 38,000-range represents the new stable level for dual-currency card issuance, or whether further changes are imminent.

JMD debit card numbers rose to 3,797,047, up from 3,769,261 in June, while JMD credit cards edged down to 434,768 from 437,158. USD credit cards held near-steady at 25,081, providing some support for the theory that the dual-currency product reclassification has not resulted in a net loss of foreign-currency card access for affected holders.

Cheques: Declining Volume, Sustained Value

Jamaica’s cheque clearing system processed 440,000 domestic currency cheques in July 2025 valued at J$81.37 billion. The associated foreign currency cheque activity included 6,500 USD cheques worth US$106.35 million, 30 GBP cheques worth £1.60 million, and a small number of Canadian dollar instruments. The US dollar cheque total of US$106.35 million — while representing only a few thousand physical instruments — is notable for its high per-cheque average value, illustrating that cheques remain the instrument of choice for very large-denomination commercial and financial transactions, particularly those with a cross-border dimension.

Reading July’s Signals for the Economy

July 2025’s payment system data provides a broadly positive reading on Jamaica’s economic activity. The record RTGS volumes suggest active financial market operations and healthy large-value commercial transaction flows. Rising ABM withdrawals point to robust consumer cash demand, consistent with a strong summer consumption season. Expanding POS volumes and terminal counts indicate sustained digital payment adoption alongside, not instead of, cash. And the partial stabilisation of dual-currency card numbers, while not a full reversal, removes some of the uncertainty generated by June’s dramatic drop.

For investors and property market observers, the combination of high RTGS volumes — which capture large-value commercial and property transactions — with growing retail payment infrastructure tells a story of an economy that is processing significant financial activity at both the wholesale and retail levels. The sustained growth in the POS network is particularly relevant to the commercial real estate sector, where merchant card acceptance capabilities influence site selection, rental demand, and tenant mix decisions in retail locations across the island.