Technology in Focus | 'Tis the season for cashless spending

The Christmas lights littering plazas, television commercials offering winnings of every kind, carols on every frequency, and Santa hats and reindeer antlers atop cars are all already telling a merry tale in Jamaica. It appears ‘tis the season for spending, and the shopping that is expected often results in gross escalation the closer it gets to Christmas Day.

And, as with previous years, Jamaicans are expected to spend a lot this time of the year, as the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) prepares to put billions into circulation in anticipation of spending during the holiday season.

Although it all seems like business as usual in many ways, it is not so, says Horace Sinclair, senior consultant, services at MC Systems. One major change in the pattern are the options that people have to make payments when they shop, he says. He notes that in the last three years in Jamaica, there has been more technology introduced to make it easier for people to buy what they want, when they want it, without having to depend on having cash in hand.

BOJ stats reveal that between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2017, the number of debit cards in circulation had increased from a little over 2.5 million to just about 2.9 million. Additionally, point-of-sale transactions, which totalled more than $137 billion at the end of 2017, showed an average spend, per transaction, of $11,900, up from an average of $7,000 per transaction in January 2015.

“We have had the convenience of ATMs for a while now, and we have been seeing an increase in the use of direct deposit payments, and for the last few years the mobile money solutions have expanded the range of options that have benefited both the merchants and customers alike,”explained Sinclair.

“This year, we have seen a further expansion in the payment ecosystem with the introduction of the mobile point-of-sale solutions from commercial banks, such as Sagicor and National Commercial Bank. These devices create more ways for micro and small businesses to positively impact cash flow and accelerate growth. This is just another clear example of how technology can become the impetus for economic advancements in markets such as ours,”he continued.

The remittance sector also saw new entrants in the form of the prepaid MasterCard Solution, with entities such as Alliance, along with the Digicel-Sagicor partnership with MyCash that have joined the Western Union My WU card and JN Money Services’ JN Money Transfer card, in ensuring that more Jamaicans who rely on money from family in the diaspora can have the convenience of receiving the money without the need to travel long distances or join lines at a cambio or agent.