The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) is urging banks to step up their efforts to ensure reliable automated teller machine (ATM) services during the busy Christmas holiday season.
CAC’s Director of Communications, Latoya Halstead, said based on a report from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), some financial institutions with ATM facilities are still falling short of the 90 per cent service standard requirement.
“We do see whereby the BOJ has spoken to the service providers or banks not attaining the 90 per cent standard… so they’re still below.
“We want to encourage our banks to ensure that the ATMs are stocked this Christmas [and] are serviced regularly to ensure that consumers, who we know will be out and about…will be able to easily withdraw monies so that they can facilitate their business,” she said.
Halstead emphasised that Christmas generates significantincrease in cash circulation, making it critical for consumers to have easy access to their money.
“We are aware that improvements have been made. But at the same time, we still don’t want our consumers to experience challenges,” she stated.
She acknowledged the role of cash in the country’s economy, noting that, “in Jamaica, cash is king.”
“I know that we would love to have a fully digitised society, [but] we are not there yet; so, you need to meet your customers where they are.
“We encourage banks to ensure that they are on top of things this Christmas,” Halstead added.
The CAC is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce. Its role is to enforce the Consumer Protection Act and facilitate ethical behaviour in the marketplace between vendors and consumers.
For further information, persons may visit the CAC’s office at 17-19 Connelley Avenue, Kingston 4; visit the agency’s website at cac.gov.jm; download the CAC Jamaica mobile app; connect with the Commission on Facebook, Instagram and X; call 876-619-4222, or email [email protected].
