Letter of the Day | Is Jamaica ready for digitisation?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The adoption and effective use of technology depends on trust. Increased trust in the use of technology depends on its utility. In economics, utility refers to the usefulness or enjoyment a consumer gets from a service or a good. We can define trust as ‘a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or the ability of someone or something’.

The recent problems associated with major financial institutions are untenable and have reduced trust. Loss of trust negatively impacts the adoption and use of technology. The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) 2022 report indicates that two-thirds of the workforce receive payments in cash. Additionally, the report indicates that cash was the preferred choice for Jamaicans, both for spending and receiving payments. The unreliability of the technological infrastructure for cashless payments and bank failures were major factors affecting the increased adoption and use of technology in the financial sector.

Customers of two major financial institutions are having major challenges with ATM services. This has been a long-standing issue.

The November 2023 month end was a nightmare for customers, and this should not be allowed to just be a ‘nine-day talk’ and left unattended. One week after many persons received salaries, they could not get cash from Scotiabank ATMs. After a week passed, persons had to travel from May Pen and Linstead to the Oasis Plaza in Spanish Town to get access to the ATM. Even there, only one of the three machines was issuing cash.

This is unacceptable and someone should be held accountable for what happened. People who had payment deadlines to meet were charged fees. Who should absorb these fees? These entities are very proud to disclose the mega profits they make, yet their customer service is very poor for the most part.

The banks are directing us to use ATMs that are more often down than up. Where are the public defender and the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC)? In the week leading up to the Christmas holiday weekend, the CAC was advising persons to do more non-cash transactions. The Bankers Association president said they were going to ensure that the ATMs were up and restocked with cash. Is this all the customers will get?

To drive adoption and use of digital payments, financial institutions must step up their game. Customers are left to fend for themselves and suffer at the hands of these large conglomerates.

A part of our national pledge states that we “promise to stand up for justice”. Where is the justice in these actions? No one seems to care what happens to the ordinary man, who is forced to be the prey of these heartless decision-makers and businesses. It is a shame to think that they no longer care for humanity. Technology has the potential to transform societies in positive ways, from improving education and healthcare to promoting social inclusion. However, if not managed well, it can result in frustration and mayhem.

NADINE BARRETT-MAITLAND,

PhD

School of Computing and

Information Technology

University of Technology,

Jamaica