Card machine down. Cash only.

This statement is all too common for consumers who attempt to pay for services at a merchant with their debit or credit card. While some merchants would not pay any fees for using a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, it tends to lead to greater sales losses for larger merchants and smaller business where consumers don’t tend to carry large volumes of cash.

This issue is compounded by automated banking machines (ABMs) being down, out of cash or a consumer having to wait in a long queue to withdraw cash.

When the Jamaica Observer queried last week with a restaurant owner in St Andrew as to why the new location for one of his restaurants did not have a POS device, he chalked it up to being unable to receive it from his commercial banking partners. He stated that he had been waiting for three months from National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCBJ) and was told at least six months from Sagicor Bank Jamaica Limited (SBJ) before he could possibly receive a machine. He already had an NCBJ POS at his existing restaurant which has been in operation for more than a decade.

“As you would have mentioned, there has been a global supply shortage of point-of-sale machines, and as a result, we have been investing in a point-of-sale buffer stock in effort to meet growing demand,” said general manager for payment services and digital channels division Danielle Cameron Duncan at NCB Financial Group Limited’s (NCBFG) investor briefing on Friday.

Duncan confirmed that NCBJ’s POS terminals are made by Verifone which is a Florida-based technology provider for electronic payment transactions.

There has been a global chip shortage which has impacted a variety of products from luxury vehicle brand Lamborghini which has been sold out until 2024 and the availability of new electronic products such as the PlayStation 5. The shortage was caused by the sudden disruption to the world in 2020 when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and product demand shifted to different categories.

“All customer situations are nuanced, but what I can say is that kind of wait time is not typical. Our aim is to deliver a machine within two days of a completed application,” Duncan added as she reiterated that the team was working on providing a resolution for the restaurant owner.

SBJ did not provide a response up to press time on the availability of POS devices.

With an estimated 70 per cent market share of the POS terminals issued in Jamaica, Duncan highlighted that NCBJ is constantly investing to expand the reach and variety of solutions offered to the public. She mentioned mPOS, e-commerce and WhatsApp Pay as some of the other options available for merchants.

“We’re well advanced in our terminal upgrade project and by the end of this month, we’ll begin to release our new Verifone VX series machines which will offer added connectivity options. We will also be pushing an upgrade to add American Express acceptance as a new option, thereby facilitating the acceptance of all major credit and debit cards from one terminal. We’re very excited about these releases that are coming up in this month and look forward to releasing these to our merchants ahead of what promises to be a very busy period for them,” Duncan explained on the upgrade and addition of the payment card processor and issuer.

NCBFG’s payment services division revenue grew 32 per cent to $25.31 billion with NCBFG Chief Financial Officer Dennis Cohen attributing the growth in revenue to the increase in value and volume of e-commerce transactions which took place during the year. However, increased expenses tempered operating profit which was down four per cent to $2.25 billion for the 2022 financial year ending September 30. NCBJ makes up the bulk of this segment which also includes Clarien Bank Limited in Bermuda.

The payment space in Jamaica is continuing to see greater competition by a variety of players. The Bank of Nova Scotia (Jamaica) is promoting its e-commerce solutions under the brand eCom+ while JMMB Group Limited intends to enter the payment services space during its 2023 financial year through JMMB Bank (Jamaica) Limited. This will include a traditional POS terminal, but also a QR code option for merchants to process payments from customers.

Regional payment services provider WiPay partnered with Member of Parliament Floyd Green last year to have a digital grant initiative for the frontline workers at the Black River Hospital. This partnership involved recipients receiving a QR code which allowed them to spend the grant at participating redemption centres in St Elizabeth.

Electronic transactions processed have increased by 14 per cent to 93.91 million transactions between January to August with the value of those transactions amounting to $2.44 trillion. This includes debit and credit cards along with other electronic transactions.