National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited is rolling out one-time passcode authentication for select online card transactions, the bank announced March 12 as Jamaica’s largest financial institution moves to harden its digital payments infrastructure against a rising tide of card fraud.
The system sends a six-digit code to a customer’s registered email or mobile number at checkout when the bank’s real-time monitoring flags a transaction as requiring additional verification. Most routine purchases will pass through without interruption.
“As more Jamaicans use their cards online, it is important that security evolves alongside convenience,” said Danielle Cameron Duncan, acting senior vice-president for payments and enterprise operations at NCB. “Even if card details are compromised, a transaction cannot be completed without direct confirmation from the customer.”
The announcement arrives as NCBJ navigates a challenging post-hurricane operating environment. The bank’s parent, NCB Financial Group, has been under credit-rating scrutiny following Hurricane Melissa’s October 2026 landfall, though Fitch Ratings recently lifted its negative watch on NCBJ, concluding that the storm’s impact on the institution was manageable. Non-performing loan data for the broader Jamaican banking sector stood at a system average of 2.7 per cent of gross loans as of September 2025, or well below the 10 per cent regulatory benchmark.
The technology – widely deployed by other financial institutions – applies what Cameron Duncan called “intelligent authentication that responds to risk in real time”, intervening selectively rather than adding friction to every transaction.
The feature complements existing NCB tools, including real-time transaction alerts and instant card-blocking through digital channels.
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