The international practice is for the publication of a compilation of national payment and securities settlement information in journals referred to as Colour Books. These Colour Books are published periodically under the auspices of the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies (CEMLA), the World Bank and the Committee on Payment and Market Infrastructure (CPMI), formerly Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS), of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The specific colour assigned to a book is based on the region from which the information is obtained. Accordingly, colours are designated regionally as follows:

1. Yellow Book - Latin America & Caribbean Countries;
2. Red Book - North & South America
3. Blue Book - Europe
4. Green Book- Africa
5. Silver Book - Asia Pacific

The publication of the Yellow Book (YB) for Jamaica is expected to:

1. promote information sharing among financial market infrastructure (FMI) participants;
2. facilitate the analysis of new developments within the financial sector;
3. represent a reference guide for cross-country comparison;
4. provide information to aid in maintaining resilient payment systems

The Bank of Jamaica (the Bank) in collaboration with CEMLA and stakeholders within the financial sector in Jamaica initiated plans for the development of a systematic description of the national payments, clearing and securities settlement systems of Jamaica. This Yellow Book comprises seven (7) sections as follows:

1. An Introduction.
2. An economic and financial market overview of Jamaica's economy.
3. The institutional aspects underpinning the National Payments System (NPS), inclusive of legal framework, role of public authorities - inclusive of the Bank of Jamaica; the role of private sector institutions - inclusive of the JBA, JSE, JCCUL, and BSAJ.
4. A description of trends in the way that non-bank entities have accessed and used payment instruments, including cash, cheques, electronic transfers, cards and other payment media.
5. A detailed description of the interbank clearing and settlement system, starting with the large-value payment systems, the Real Time Gross Settlement System operated by the Bank of Jamaica, that is, JamClear©-RTGS, retail payment systems and cross-border payments.
6. A detailed description of securities trading, clearing and settlement systems, showing the different types of assets traded in the securities and foreign exchange market.
7. The report concludes with statistical tables, abbreviations and glossary.

The Payment System Department team from the Bank of Jamaica, led by Deputy Governor Livingstone Morrison, worked in close collaboration with the WHF Core Team to complete this Report. The Bank of Jamaica team was composed of Mrs. Novelette Panton, Senior Director, Payment System & Risk Management, Mrs. Sherry-Ann Crooks, Director Payment System Department (from March 2016), Ms. Patricia Rose Director Payment System Department (until February 2016), Kadah Harriot, Compliance and Monitoring Officer Payment System Department and Michael Marshall, Assistant Director Financial Stability Department. The members of the Core Team participating in the development of the Report were: Raúl Morales and YazmÍn Pérez (cemla). A final peer review was also carried out by Maria Teresa Chimienti (World Bank), member of the whf Core Team.

Click for Yellow Book - 2016