THE Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) on Tuesday granted a licence to the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League (JCCUL) for Conec — the mobile wallet payment service that will allow delivery on a full commercial basis.

The JCCUL received the BOJ’s authorisation under the Guidelines for the Electronic Retail Payment Service to offer custodian account-based payment services to the public.

Heston Hutton, CEO of JaMobile — the JCCUL subsidiary which manages CONEC Mobile Wallet — said that Conec, which began with top-up services, balance enquiries and bill payment, now includes person-to-person cash transfers and merchant services.

These transactions fall within within the agreed limits stipulated in the guidelines and are now available at approved agent locations.

The central bank’s approval in September 2013 for Phase 1 of the project allowed JCCUL to offer limited services to customers of the credit union movement. And, in August, 2014 the Central Bank issued an approval to the JCCUL for a Phase 2 pilot, which allowed for an extended suite of services to these customers.

Conec hosts major billing companies, including Jamaica Public Service, National Water Commission, and telecoms companies Flow and Digice — allowing almost 20,000 subscribers a way to pay their bills.

Hutton said the licence will allow the credit union movement that invested in the wallet’s development to begin over-the-top advertising and promotion of the suite of services.

At last report, around US$5 million had been invested in the mobile wallet roll-out between the JCCUL and technology partner Mozido.

In accordance with BOJ regulations, users are allowed a wallet limit of

$50,000 only if a valid identification and tax registration number (TRN) is provided.

Tier two allows wallet transaction limit of $100,000 where the subscriber requires a valid ID, TRN and proof of address. The final tier allows a wallet size of $150,000 where the subscriber can provide a valid ID, TRN, proof of address and proof of income.

Daily spending limits are different. Wallet users will have daily transaction limits of $15,000 for tier one; $40,000 for tier two, and $53,000 for tier three.

The JCCUL, in collaboration with its technology partner MOZIDO, launched the mobile money service to be carried by JaMobile.

The company is planning to partner with international remittance providers to enable Conec users to retrieve their remittance directly to their wallet without having to commute to a traditional brick and mortar remittance agent at a fraction of the cost.