A complete analysis of Jamaica’s nineteen-month BOJ Payment System Data Bulletin series, June 2024 to December 2025. JAMCLEAR-RTGS volumes reflected sustained interbank activity, POS transactions grew as card adoption accelerated, and cheque usage declined structurally — together tracing the arc of Jamaica’s payment modernisation programme.

A complete analysis of Jamaica’s seventeen-month BOJ ABM Performance Bulletin series, December 2024 to April 2026. Hurricane Melissa triggered seven consecutive months of uptime non-compliance, the permanent loss of eleven Scotia Bank machines, and a 137-machine fleet refresh programme — the largest in the series. Rural uptime finally recovered above 95% in April 2026.

A complete analysis of Jamaica’s seventeen-month Bank of Jamaica Remittance Bulletin series, from December 2024 through April 2026. Fiscal 2025/26 became the first year to exceed US$3 billion in diaspora inflows, with corridor trends, regional benchmarks and housing market implications examined across the full dataset.

From a hurricane-battered island clawing its way back to a landmark lawsuit over cannabis royalties, 2026 has tested every facet of the Marley inheritance. Today, on a street named for the island he never stopped singing about, a seven-foot statue of the man is unveiled in Liverpool — and the question is not whether the music endures, but what it is being asked to carry.

Jamaica in 2026 presents a study in profound contradiction. Tourism revenues are approaching historic highs as the island cements its position as the Caribbean’s most recognised brand. The murder rate, while showing a declining trend from the peaks of the late 2010s and early 2020s, remains among the highest in the world. The reparations debate has moved from the margins of diplomatic conversation to its centre. And Jamaica’s relationship with the United States, the United Kingdom, and China is being renegotiated in real time.

Jamaica in 2026 presents a study in contradiction: record tourism revenues alongside one of the world’s highest murder rates; fiscal stability alongside persistent social inequality; growing international profile alongside the unresolved reparations debate.

The House of Representatives has approved an increase in the national minimum wage from $16,000 to $17,000 for a 40-hour week, with the hourly rate rising to $425 from 1 July.

Jamaica welcomed over 1.5 million stopover and cruise visitors up to May with only 70 per cent of tourism capacity available after Hurricane Melissa, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said.

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green says new resorts in St James and St Ann create a large market for local produce, but only for farmers who can supply consistently and to a high standard.

Annual inflation rose to 5.4 per cent in May from 4.3 per cent in April, pushed up by food, restaurant meals, electricity and fuel, nearing the top of the central bank’s target.