The Government on Friday, June 3 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with deposit-taking institutions to participate in the pilot of the National Identification System (NIDS).
Representatives of the Jamaica Bankers Association signed on behalf of the banks during a ceremony held at the Office of the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, in his remarks at the signing, said that NIDS will improve the ease of doing business while further advancing Jamaica’s quest of becoming a digital society.
The Prime Minister said that the partnership with the banks will ensure that there is a simplified process when opening bank accounts using the national identity verification and authentication system.
The Prime Minister said that the absence of proper identification (ID) remains a significant barrier for thousands of Jamaicans, noting that $300 million in the assistance provided by the Government through the COVID Allocation of Resources for Employees (CARE) programme remains uncollected due to the inability to verify the identity of persons.
He encouraged members of the banking fraternity to engage their customers about the benefits of digitisation and the transformations taking place in their organisations.