Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL), through its subsidiary Supreme Ventures Fintech Limited (SVFL), is shifting focus from its core lottery and gaming business to a transaction-based model with the addition of new services under its EVOLVE brand.

The launch of EVOLVE Bill Pay earlier this month marks a significant step in this transformation. With the latest addition SVL aims to capture a substantial share of the bill payments market by leveraging technology to bridge financial gaps, promote inclusion, and empower underserved communities.

With more than 1,500 gaming outlets across the island and daily foot traffic of over 350,000 gaming and betting customers, SVL plans to use its extensive retail network to bring bill payment solutions and other financial services directly to communities, eliminating the need for long lines or customers having to travel to distant payment centres.

“At Supreme Ventures, we’re evolving into a transaction company — not just gaming,” said Delroy Anderson, chief innovation officer (CIO) at SVFL, in a recent interview with the Jamaica Observer. “We see a real opportunity to change the financial services landscape by improving access and convenience. We’ve started with simpler services, but we aim to expand into micro-investments, insurance, collections and anything payment-related so that more people can access services faster, easier, more securely.”

Pleased with the volumes of transactions the entity has so far been handling daily, Anderson said that EVOLVE is already positioning to become a major revenue stream for the group, which currently derives the bulk of its income from gaming.

In 2024 revenues from the gaming and betting segments accounted for more than two-thirds of the overall $52 billion recorded for the group.

“Gaming represents a small portion of the overall economy, so if EVOLVE can capture even five to 10 per cent of the individual markets it enters, it could easily surpass gaming in terms of revenue contribution,” he further told the Business Observer.

“Our ambition, as mentioned, is to convert SVL into a transaction company, as we make available to people all types of services and we believe that with the plans and partnerships we now have, the fintech arm and EVOLVE brand will become a major contender for revenues. We have been seeing tremendous growth from this channel and as more people become aware that we are offering bill payment services, we expect to see it grow further,” he added.

Since its fintech arm was launched in 2021, SVFL has been targeting Jamaica’s growing payments ecosystem, particularly the unbanked and underbanked population. The company began by enabling utility bill payments and plans to expand into other essential services in the coming months.

“We now offer bill payment services for the four major utility providers — Flow, JPS, NWC, and Digicel — offering customers the convenience of paying these bills across 168 of our 1,500 stores which display the EVOLVE signage. As our numbers rapidly grow our intention is to onboard billers for insurance, school fees, and security services soon,” said Anderson, who joined SVFL in 2022.

“With EVOLVE Bill Pay we’re taking financial services to the people, making everyday transactions faster, easier, and more convenient. This is just the beginning of our journey to transform how Jamaicans interact with financial technology,” he further said in a company-issued release.

In the coming months, SVFL plans to continue expanding its EVOLVE offerings to provide more modern, user-friendly financial solutions across Jamaica — where people live, work, and play.

In addition to bill payments, the EVOLVE brand launched a money transfer service in February 2024, which is, for the moment, only available at SVL-owned stores.

“Since our launch, we’ve been growing at about 30 per cent per month. Right now we process remittances for RIA, but aim to offer services from other providers soon,” Anderson said, while noting that in addition to the six company operated stores and 12 approved third-party agents offering the EVOLVE remittance service, there are also more than 100 additional applications pending Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) approval which SVFL expects to add soon.

Commenting on the build-out of products remaining in its fintech sandbox, Anderson said the roll-out of a digital wallet sits atop new ones to come to market.

“This likewise is subject to BOJ approval and we’re currently going through that process now. With the wallet we will be able to add those other services that will give customers access without having to leave their homes to process transactions.”

“We’re gradually entering the market, and as we get the approvals and finalise the relevant partnerships, we believe EVOLVE will become a household name in Jamaica. With our trusted brand and extensive reach, we are aiming to make formal financial services more accessible to more people. In the near future, we expect to become a major player in all the sectors we are trying to play in,” he concluded.