NCB
Developing One of the First Central Bank Digital Currencies
We developed a secure and scalable solution for the Lynk digital wallet, enabling the launch of JAM-DEX, one of the world’s first Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and advancing financial inclusion in Jamaica.
- Industry
- Topics
- Regions
- 🇯🇲 Jamaica
- Published
- July 2026
The Company
Founded in 1837, National Commercial Bank Jamaica (NCB) is one of the Caribbean’s leading financial services groups and Jamaica’s largest commercial bank. Through a comprehensive portfolio of retail, business, payments, lending, investment, and insurance services, the organization serves millions of customers, businesses, and institutions across the region. Driven by innovation and digital transformation, NCB continuously invests in modernizing its platforms and digital channels to deliver secure, seamless, and personalized banking experiences. The organization continues to strengthen its technology capabilities to simplify financial services, enhance customer engagement, and support the evolving needs of individuals and businesses.
The Challenge
As the second-largest economy in the Caribbean, Jamaica sought to advance financial inclusion through a secure, accessible digital payment alternative backed by its Central Bank. To achieve this, the Bank launched an initiative to develop a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) that would expand access to financial services, accelerate the adoption of digital payments, and provide a modern infrastructure for the country’s digital economy.
The Solution
Following the successful development of the Lynk digital wallet for National Commercial Bank (NCB), Baufest was selected to support the implementation of JAM-DEX, Jamaica’s Central Bank Digital Currency. Within just two weeks, a multidisciplinary team was assembled, bringing together frontend and backend developers, QA engineers, IT Operations specialists, an account architect, and a Scrum Master.
The project focused on building the mobile application on top of the Lynk platform, extending it with the capabilities required to support a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The solution was designed to meet the highest standards of security, scalability, and availability, ensuring it could reliably serve millions of users.
Baufest developed the native mobile frontend for iOS and Android, integrating the new CBDC capabilities while working closely with the client to meet an aggressive delivery schedule. The MVP was the only solution to meet the Central Bank’s timeline and was released in January 2022 for a Friends & Family pilot. Following its successful validation, JAM-DEX was launched to the general public and continues to evolve through ongoing enhancements to the Lynk platform.
Benefits
- Advanced financial inclusion by providing a secure, central bank-backed digital alternative to cash.
- Delivered a secure, intuitive mobile application designed for large-scale adoption.
- Modernized the country’s retail payments infrastructure through a scalable digital currency platform.
- Enabled new financial services and created opportunities for continued innovation across the digital payments ecosystem.