Jamaica plans to roll out its CBDC JAM-DEX in 2022, but citizens are unimpressed with the branding choice by the nation’s apex bank for the digital asset.
Following the successful completion of a test pilot for its Central Bank Digital Currency(CBDC), the Bank of Jamaica(BOJ) has announced the result of its name, tagline and logo contest.
The central bank of Jamaica revealed on Twitter that it had chosen the name “Jam-DEX” along with the tagline ‘No Cash No Problem’. It further showcased the winning logo ahead of its upcoming CBDC launch, scheduled for late 2022.
Jamaica’s intention to add the JAM-DEX to its financial infrastructure argus will with the emerging economy considering the IMFs backing of CBDCs. The international body believes that CBDCs can provide better resilience, safety, availability, and cheaper costs than private forms of digital money if appropriately designed.
Emerging Economies Integrating CBDC
All across the world, developing economies continue to grapple with global macro headwinds, including rising interest rates and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This has seen them employ various measures to their financial infrastructure to offer resilience and stimulate growth.
Some countries like El Salvador have gone with Bitcoin as a legal tender, with the likes of Tonga seriously considering it. However, the IMF has vehemently warned against this and has instead called for the adoption of CBDCs.
The IMF further revealed that at least 100 countries are at various stages of CBDC adoption. Some like Nigeria, China and the Bahamas have all rolled out theirs, with Jamaica joining them. Others are still in development, including Sweden, the European Union and several other countries.
Nigeria is leading the charge for African countries after becoming the first economy from the region to launch its CBDC, the eNaira. At the time of the launch in October 2021, Nigeria was one of the very few countries that had adopted the digital money system. The government hoped that implementation would help boost the nation’s GDP, and help fight against inflation. Several other African countries like South Africa, Ghana, Mauritania and Rwanda have also revealed plans to implement CBDCs.However, months after launching the eNaira alongside the eNaira wallet, Nigerians have expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation. Many have taken to the review section of the google app store to complain about the wallet’s functionality. Nigerians aren’t the only ones displeased; Jamaicans are as well.
Jamaican’s Dissatisfied With Branding Choice
The bank of Jamaica has continued to face public outrage from the local crypto community after it revealed its CBDC contest winners. Many believe the name JAM-DEX might easily be mistaken as a decentralized exchange (DEX) and described the logo as awful.
The logo utilised the outline of Jamaica’s national fruit and national dish key ingredient, the ackee. The BOJ said it took the name from the Jamaican Digital Exchange. With the contest winners walking away with the sum of almost $10000, Jamaicans have been left unimpressed.
Consequently, Jamaicans expressed their displeasure across the social media platform Twitter. Some said the logo did not put the country’s creative industry in a good light. One user, Jamaican Investor, believed his entry would have been a better fit than the chosen one.
Interestingly, the logo designer said that it was an iteration of the original logo design that was picked and not his main submission. He revealed this after also receiving backlash from the concerned community members.
Finally, some Jamaicans said a lack of understanding of the technology had led to poor branding choices from the BOJ. This ignorance has also affected Nigeria, with its FX liquidity being bled out from the crypto side due to its crypto banking ban. A year from the prohibition, the CBN has failed to recourse despite the move proving to be a counterproductive measure. This is backed up by data that shows that the P2P market has continued to grow despite the ban.
Do you think proper branding matters when launching a CBDC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Chris is a crypto enthusiast and a firm believer in the blockchain’s ability to create a new financial paradigm. Through writing, Chris hopes to expose the intricacies of this disruptive technology and how it is beneficial to Africans and developing countries. He aims to give readers a rational and unbiased outlook of the industry by equipping them with the necessary information to make enlightened investment decisions.
