Jamaicans can now get Airbnb payments via bank accounts

Airbnb has rolled out a new payout option for Jamaican hosts that allows them to receive earnings directly into their local bank accounts – a change that eliminates the currency conversion and intermediary fees that have long eaten into host income on the platform.

The short-term rental giant announced the change in an email to hosts this week, describing it as a new option that would allow Jamaicans to “keep more of your earnings” by removing international bank transfer and foreign currency fees.

“You can now choose to get your payouts in USD, sent directly to your local bank account,” stated Airbnb in the message. “With this option, you’ll no longer pay international bank transfer or foreign currency fees, which means you’ll keep more of your earnings.”

Airbnb did not respond to queries from the Financial Gleaner by press time.

The development marks an upgrade for Jamaica’s estimated thousands of Airbnb hosts, who have until now navigated a patchwork of imperfect payout options. Jamaica currently offers five methods of receiving payments – a local bank transfer, international wire transfer, Western Union, PayPal, and Payoneer – each carrying drawbacks.

International wire transfers have drawn complaints from Jamaican hosts on Airbnb’s own community forums, with some reporting receiving a fraction of the expected payout amount after intermediary banks and currency conversion fees were deducted.

The new option sidesteps that problem by sending funds directly to a Jamaican bank account.

“AI told me the Western Union option was cheapest for my level of activity, but I am going to check out the new direct bank account option,” said Edward, a Jamaican host who earns seven figures annually from Airbnb and has until now collected his payouts by joining the queue at a Western Union branch. He asked that his surname not be used as he operates short-term rentals in breach of his residential complex’s rules. “No fees – but what’s the exchange rate the bank uses?”

He plans to take the weekend to tally the total cost difference before deciding whether to switch.

Jamaica’s short-term rental sector has been rebuilding since Hurricane Melissa struck as a Category 5 storm in October 2025, and hosts – many of whom depend on Airbnb income to service mortgages and loans – have had little room for margin erosion. The ability to receive funds directly, without fees, gives hosts greater certainty over what they will actually receive from each booking.

The change also narrows a gap between Jamaica and some of its Caribbean neighbours though the regional picture is uneven. Haiti offers USD bank transfers and Payoneer. The Cayman Islands offers four methods – two variants of PayPal in USD and pounds sterling, plus two others – but no Western Union or local bank transfer. Barbados offers four methods, excluding PayPal. Trinidad and Tobago offers three, with neither PayPal nor Payoneer available. The Dominican Republic offers five methods but no local bank transfer or Payoneer. United States – Airbnb’s home market – offers hosts only three payout methods, a reminder that options does not always equate to access.

business@gleanerjm.com