Tag: finance
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Jamaica Simplified Know-Your-Customer. So Why Does It Still Feel Hard?
In 2019, Jamaica introduced simplified customer due diligence (CDD) through amendments to its Proceeds of Crime Act, Anti-Money Laundering (POCA AML) regulations. Customer Due Diligence is the procedure that banks must use before opening bank accounts for their customers. The goal was clear: to reduce on-boarding barriers (when opening bank accounts) and expand access to…
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The Growing Threat of Identity Fraud in Jamaica
Recent fraud cases in Jamaica have drawn attention to a growing problem that financial institutions around the world are increasingly confronting: identity manipulation. In January 2026, authorities charged a 30-year-old medical doctor in connection with what investigators described as an elaborate fraud scheme targeting several financial institutions. Reports indicate that the suspects allegedly used a…
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Jam-Dex versus Bitcoin
Introduction Money has always existed in physical form — notes and coins issued by a central bank. Today, many countries are exploring ways to issue this same money digitally, creating what is known as a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). In Jamaica, this digital currency is called Jam-Dex. One technology developed for this purpose is…
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Why This Bitcoin Book Didn’t Stick
My own recent analysis in What Bitcoin’s Meltdown Reveals About Markets set a high bar — which is why Easy Money started strong but gradually lost me. Easy Money started strong for me. Ben McKenzie explains Bitcoin clearly for the layperson, and those early chapters helped frame the technology in simple, practical terms. But after…
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Why Loans Aren’t Instant — Yet
That PSOJ Masterclass I attended 2 weeks ago gave me a lot to think about. During a discussion about the mission of Tiddle LLC, we touched on loan turnaround time. Someone mentioned that because she was pre-approved with her bank, getting a loan took only 24 to 48 hours. Relatively speaking, that’s excellent. Yet it…