WIPAY Jamaica has signed an exclusive payment processing agreement with petrol distributors, Petroleum Company of Jamaica (Petcom). The deal, which is the latest WiPay has signed since opening its doors in Jamaica last August, will see the regional fintech company providing online and point-of-presence card processing services. The deal runs into billions of dollars and includes the upgrade of Petcom’s current point-of-sale terminals to WiPay’s smart terminals for both in-store and at-the-pump payments at all Petcom service stations islandwide. WiPay will also provide processing for Petcom’s cooking gas division and home delivery services with “tap on glass” mobile point-of-sale devices for use by Petcom agents. Petcom’s order-from-home service will be supported by WiPay’s online payment gateway.

However, the WiPay-Petcom arrangement goes beyond payment processing. WiPay would also benefit from Petcom’s islandwide network in providing a suite of other services through WiPay’s smart terminals and locally regulated service partners. Petcom locations would now be powered to provide bill payment services (eg JPS, Digicel, Flow), money remittance, QR code payments, card loading and cambio services.

Aldwyn Wayne, CEO of WiPay, revealed that he and his management team were just recently in Jamaica signing several agreements. “Our trip to Jamaica was extremely successful. The Petcom partnership is the first of many and we were very fortunate in this very short space of time to have entered into some significant relationships that would have WiPay and its services in over 1,000 locations across Jamaica,” Wayne said. He said the company is on the verge of signing a new agreement soon.

In addition to the partnerships, WiPay also demonstrated two new payment technologies destined for the Jamaican market at a event held at Cru Bar and Kitchen in Kingston last Saturday. One of the solutions demonstrated was “QR point-of-sale” where card payments were made using a QR code rather than a traditional point-of-sale terminal. “This solution is designed for individuals, sole traders, merchants and businesses that may not have the resources or access to obtain a point-of-sale terminal but would like to accept card payments,” said Kibwe McGann, WiPay Jamaica country manager. The other payment technology demonstrated was “EMV tap on glass” which allows any cellphone to complete a secure EMV, contactless transaction. “This solution was developed for merchants who prefer a more traditional card payment transaction experience,” McGann explained. “The intention is to turn every entrepreneur’s or small business owner’s cellphone into a mobile point-of-sale device, bringing us ever closer to our goal of achieving greater financial inclusion,” McGaan concluded.

WiPay, which has operations in Jamaica, St Lucia and Trinidad, is based in Barbados. It is an online payment facilitator and was founded in 2016 by Trinidadian businessman Aldwyn Wayne.