(Trinidad Guardian) Jamaica’s central bank, which is called the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), announced yesterday that it was suspending the exchange of T&T banknotes at its banking counter effective Monday “until further advised.”
In an interim notice, the BOJ advised “the public that the existing arrangement for BOJ to repatriate Trinidad and Tobago banknotes is currently under review.”
In this regard, effective 6 November 2023, the exchange of Trinidad and Tobago dollars at BOJ’s banking counter is suspended until further advised.
The news that there was a facility at the Bank of Jamaica that allowed for the exchange of T&T banknotes came as a surprise to several people who messaged Guardian Media yesterday.
Seeking clarification from the Central Bank of T&T, Guardian Media sent five questions to the spokesperson for the Central Bank as well as a link to the notice on the Bank of Jamaica website.
The questions were:
1) Was the suspension of the exchange of T&T banknotes done at the request of the Central Bank?
2) Was this done after consultation with the Central Bank?
3) Does the Central Bank know why this arrangement was suspended by the BOJ?
4) When was this arrangement put in place?
5) Is there a similar arrangement in place with any other country?
There was no response to those questions by the newspaper’s deadline.
On its website, the Central Bank says its mission is as follows: “The Bank shall have as its purpose the promotion of such monetary, credit and exchange policies as would foster monetary and financial stability and public confidence and be favourable to the economy of Trinidad and Tobago.”
