CREATING a virtual environment where buyers anywhere across the globe can browse and make cashless purchases of goods and services from businesses based in Jamaica is a dream three budding software engineers are determined to fulfill.

They are Jonathan Cooper, 20, Kevin Leyow, 22, and Jason Scott, 20, operators of Blaze Payment Limited.

The trio, who are a part of the business incubator JGX Labs, launched recently by American tech expert JJ Geewax, have created a mobile application software called Blaze which they intend on making the first widely accepted local mobile application software that allows Jamaicans the ease of ordering and paying for their goods and services with the use of their smartphone or tablet devices.

“We want to [make] Kingston into a place where customers are able to walk into a store or not, observe a product they want and pay for it cashless, through our credit system, with the use of their smartphone,” Scott, the company’s CEO told Career & Education at Blaze’s Kingston office.

“We want to make Kingston into a place where you don’t have to walk with cash or cards to make purchases or have to join long lines. With our system, you would be able to pay for whatever you want and pick it up whenever it is more convenient to you. You won’t have to worry about closing hours of stores. You can just purchase from stores and pick your stuff up when you feel like doing so, or have time to,” he added.

The original idea for the Blaze app was conceptualised when the trio decided to enter the 2013 Caribbean Open Data Conference & Code Sprint Competition which was held at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona

in April.

It was there that Geewax met the team and decided to start the umbrella group with them assigned as one of the four businesses the organisation currently controls.

The idea was to create an app which partygoers could use to order drinks from their smartphones, rather than shuffling at bars. Partygoers would be able to assign bartenders their orders and be electronically notified of the total cost and when their orders were available for pick up.

According to Cooper, the Blaze app is one that could extensively transform the way Jamaicans conduct business.

“Our aim is to make this app replace the overall purchasing habits of Kingstonians, which are not always safe, such as walking with excessive amounts of cash for purchases and a friendly alternative to using credit and debit cards,” he told Career & Education.

The benefits of using the system outnumber any conceivable negatives, Cooper said.

“Blaze will bring a new level of convenience when paying for everyday goods and services. Users will enjoy the benefit of quick transactions and transfers without the wait times. Organisations that partner with Blaze will receive lower fees than the current payment options now available to them for transaction processing with our major financial bank,” he said.

Already, Usain Bolt’s famous restaurant located in Kingston, Tracks & Records, where JGX Labs was launched on July 18, has considered accommodating the use of the Blaze app for the first product testing. Customers can make non-verbal orders of meals and liquor with the Blaze app, make payments online and also tip their assigned waiters and cashiers.

Cooper, Leyow and Scott are all pursuing computer science degrees at UWI. Their next big battle is selling the idea to every registered company in Corporate Jamaica, starting with those in Kingston.

“Our vision for Blaze is that it becomes international and popular with our user base. We want Blaze to be successful as a product, to be on a level where is it intuitive, smart and easy for anyone to use and simple for anyone to pick up and integrate into their daily life,” Scott said.