What of personal cheques from overseas?

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I am compelled to write this letter with reference to the article titled, ‘Holness wants consumers to overcome fear of using tech’, which was published in The Gleaner yesterday.

Hundreds of Jamaicans at home and particularly in the diaspora are not sure if they can send their personal cheques as remittances to their family members, because of the goal of digitising the Jamaican economy.

The remittances derived from family members working elsewhere form an important source of income for many households.

About two weeks ago, I spoke with a government employee at the office of the Commissioner of Revenue about a personal cheque transaction.

I was told this office does not process personal cheque transaction. It is done by another office, but I was not told the name of the office, nor the telephone number of the office.

However, the employee also said, “I am not sure if the banks are taking personal cheques any more.”

So, with due respect, it is very important that this matter be publicly addressed, if it is not done already, because Jamaica may be losing millions of dollars every day in remittances from the diaspora.

CARGILL KELLY