- Jamaica’s RTGS settled an estimated J$2.13 trillion in May 2025 alone.
- Cumulative January–May settlements crossed J$10.9 trillion for the first time.
- POS terminal network breached 33,000 units, reaching 33,311 by month end.
- CSD processed an exceptionally large J$5.7 trillion in May securities settlements.
- Electronic retail payments reached 88.9 million transactions YTD worth J$2.6 trillion.
- Debit card base stood at 3.80 million; USD dual-currency cards jumped to 45,630.
May 2025 marked a symbolic milestone for Jamaica’s retail payment infrastructure as the island’s POS terminal count breached the 33,000 threshold for the first time, while the wholesale settlement system processed its highest single-month volume of the year and an extraordinary securities settlement surge pushed the CSD to near-record activity levels.
The Bank of Jamaica’s Payment System Data Bulletin for May 2025 documents a payment system operating at its highest cumulative throughput of the year, with January-to-May RTGS settlements reaching J$10,908.81 billion — comfortably above the J$10 trillion mark and representing a pace that, if sustained, would put full-year high-value settlements well above 2024 levels. The May bulletin also reveals an extraordinary spike in CSD securities settlement activity that likely reflects a major government bond transaction, and confirms that Jamaica’s POS terminal network has crossed the 33,000-unit threshold for the first time in the island’s financial history.
RTGS: The Highest Single Month of 2025
The JAMCLEAR-RTGS system settled 2,074,414 cumulative transactions from January through May 2025, with Jamaican dollar values totalling J$10,908.81 billion. Comparing against the January-to-April cumulative of J$8,783.53 billion indicates that May alone generated approximately J$2,125.28 billion in JMD-denominated settlements — the highest single-month RTGS value of the year to date and a 9.3% increase on April’s estimated J$1,944.19 billion. In US dollar terms, the five-month cumulative RTGS total reached US$1,210.82 million, with merchant banks dominating at US$982.77 million or 81.2% of the total.
May’s elevated RTGS activity likely reflects the combination of mid-year corporate treasury operations, government wage and pension payments at the close of the fiscal quarter, and the settlement of large investment transactions that are typical of the May period when institutional investors reposition ahead of the summer. Merchant banks remained the dominant participants in JMD settlement at 66.8% of total value (J$7,287.46 billion cumulative), with building societies’ share at 15.3% (J$1,664.45 billion) reflecting their management of the mortgage lending and deposit settlement flows that constitute a significant portion of Jamaica’s formal banking activity.
33,311 POS Terminals: A Landmark for Jamaica’s Card Economy
The crossing of the 33,000-terminal threshold is a landmark for Jamaica’s merchant card acceptance infrastructure. At end-May 2025, 33,311 POS terminals were active across the island — an increase of 381 units from April’s 32,930 and the highest count ever recorded in the BOJ’s monthly payment system bulletin series. To put this in context: the network has added more than 3,800 terminals in twelve months, equivalent to more than one new terminal installed and activated per hour around the clock for an entire year. This pace of expansion, sustained across a country with approximately 2.9 million people, represents one of the fastest merchant POS buildouts in the Caribbean region on a per-capita basis.
The 33,311 terminal figure means that Jamaica now has approximately one POS terminal for every 87 residents — a density that, while still below developed-market comparators, is sufficient to support meaningful card acceptance in most commercial environments. The strategic implication is that the infrastructure for a predominantly cashless economy is being built out at pace; the remaining question is the speed at which consumer and merchant behaviour shifts to take full advantage of the infrastructure available. Card transaction data, growing at double-digit percentage rates in recent BOJ bulletins, suggests that behaviour is following infrastructure with a lag that is measurable in months rather than years.
CSD: An Exceptional Month in the Bond Market
The JAMCLEAR-CSD central securities depository recorded 47,491 transactions in May 2025 alone, with JMD values of J$5,698.25 billion — a figure that dwarfs April’s and March’s monthly CSD activity and suggests that May 2025 saw one or more exceptional government bond market events. The Entitlements Proceeds category, covering coupon payments and bond redemptions to investors, accounted for 40.1% of volume (19,056 transactions) and J$2,383.46 billion (41.8%) of JMD value — consistent with a month in which significant principal redemptions were made to bondholders as part of Jamaica’s debt management calendar.
The USD equivalent of May CSD activity reached US$1,298.79 million, with repo and reverse repo transactions in USD terms particularly elevated at US$281.32 million and US$267.40 million respectively. This elevated USD repo activity in the CSD is consistent with the government’s active management of its external financing, including the rolling of USD-denominated treasury instruments. The Delivery versus Payment (DVP) category — used for secondary market securities transactions against simultaneous cash settlement — recorded 6,053 transactions worth J$220.85 billion and US$100.93 million, suggesting healthy secondary market liquidity in Jamaica’s bond market during May.
Electronic Retail Payments: 88.9 Million Transactions in Five Months
The cumulative electronic retail payment count for January-to-May 2025 reached 88,889,940 JMD-denominated transactions worth J$2,599.72 billion — an average of nearly 17.8 million transactions per month and a year-to-date total that is on track to far exceed the volumes implied by the Q1 2025 run rate. In US dollar terms, the January-to-May electronic payment total reached 24,307,120 transactions worth US$1,675.57 million, reflecting the combined contribution of foreign-currency card spending, USD bill payments, and cross-border settlement activity.
The five-month cumulative total of 88.9 million JMD electronic transactions represents approximately 17,780 transactions per month for every 1,000 adults in Jamaica — a figure that, while influenced by multiple-account holders and institutional transaction volume, points to a payment ecosystem in which the average Jamaican adult is engaging with electronic payment channels multiple times per week. For the commercial banking sector, each of these transactions represents a data point in a customer profile, a micro-fee from merchant acquiring or card interchange, and a foundation for the broader digital financial services offerings that are increasingly central to bank revenue models.
Card Base: 3.80 Million Debit Cards and a USD Dual-Currency Surge
The card-in-circulation data at end-May 2025 shows a slight adjustment in the debit card count, with JMD debit cards at 3,804,069 — down marginally from April’s 3,812,364. The slight reduction may reflect a card expiry and replacement cycle in which expired cards are removed from the active count before replacement cards are issued, a routine lifecycle event that creates temporary fluctuations in the reported stock. JMD credit cards continued their upward trend at 437,382, up from April’s 435,606.
The most striking card data point in May is the USD dual-currency card count, which reached 45,630 — a jump of 1,920 cards from April’s 43,710 and a materially faster pace of growth than in recent months. USD dual-currency cards, which allow holders to spend in both Jamaican and US dollars from a single card, are increasingly popular among Jamaica’s tourism sector workers, returning diaspora members, and professionals whose earnings or expenditure regularly span both currencies. The accelerating growth in this segment may reflect renewed interest from banks in marketing dual-currency products ahead of the summer tourism season, when the ability to transact in US dollars without currency conversion costs is particularly valuable.
What May’s Data Signals for Jamaica’s Economy
At J$2.13 trillion in RTGS settlements, May 2025 marks the highest single-month high-value payment throughput of the year so far — a signal of robust economic activity in the institutional and corporate sector that is consistent with the strong first-half economic performance the BOJ and the Ministry of Finance have pointed to in their concurrent macroeconomic communications. The CSD’s extraordinary May volume suggests active debt market management, with significant government bond activity serving as a reminder that Jamaica’s securities market remains one of the most dynamic in the Caribbean. And the POS terminal milestone of 33,311 units frames 2025 as the year in which Jamaica’s merchant card infrastructure definitively scaled beyond the 33,000-unit level, a threshold that would have seemed ambitious just three years ago.
For the real estate and housing sector, May’s payment data is constructive: consumers transacting at high volumes, cash and digital channels co-growing, and the infrastructure for formal financial engagement deepening across the island. As the summer season approaches, the June through August bulletins will test whether May’s strong performance was a seasonal peak or the beginning of a sustained elevated phase in Jamaica’s payment activity cycle.
Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com
Visit our YouTube Community ↗