Jamaica's Minister of Finance, Dr. Nigel Clarke, announced plans for the CBDC pilot to start this year during his annual National Budget Debate speech on March 9, 2021. Dr. Clarke said, "The Government is concerned about the size of the unbanked population. Access to financial services is essential to improving productivity and well-being. There are individual benefits and there are also spillover benefits to the society, as well.” In the efforts to modernize Jamaica's economy, he said that "with recent innovations in technology, it is possible to introduce alternatives to cash that are cheaper, more secure, more efficient and that offers the prospect of increasing competition in the provision of financial services and of greatly increasing the financial inclusion in our society."