WIPAY Group has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI)-led solution to support the disbursement of funds under the $10-billion Restoration of Owner or Occupant Family Shelters (ROOFS) programme.

WiPay has been leading the technology infrastructure behind the ROOFS programme which was launched in January to support the recovery efforts of persons impacted by Hurricane Melissa. This initiative has been facilitated through the National Payments Company of Jamaica (NPCJ), which has been used to support the tracking of funds and materials requested by recipients.

“We’ve moved from simply distributing funds to managing the entire experience around it. When people no longer have to guess, wait for hours, or deal with overcrowding, the system starts to work the way it should,” stated Kibwe McGann, CMO of WiPay Group, in a press release.

The ROOFS programme has disbursed more than $8.25 billion to affected households since its launch. The structured support programme involves recipients receiving an equivalent value of construction material from more than 200 hardware stores across the affected areas. Recipients with major to severe damage can access $125,000 to $425,000 worth of construction materials — a move which is supported by text messages and QR codes.

Whilst the targeted programme is working as intended to support rebuilding efforts, the $75,000 discretionary cash amount for recovery-related expenses proved a little more challenging in the initial phase.

The payments company is now pushing its GovPay2.0 solution to manage the handling of cash payments. This AI solution allows for recipients to be scheduled for collecting cash payments at the more than 100 associated locations in the island. It also allows for recipients to send payments directly to their bank account, reducing transportation costs and other risks related to physical cash.

“What we’re using is an AI-first driven system that allocates the times so that nobody gets duplicated times beyond what can be managed,” McGann added as the company partners with Lasco Financial Services Limited.

The WiPay executive noted that the new solution builds on the company’s experience with the COVID-19 pandemic during which they assisted with a similar initiative. He noted, “Between the cash appointment management solution and express direct-to-bank solutions, we expect to alleviate the current challenges and pain points.”

As Jamaica continues to address the challenges in western Jamaica, McGann pointed to the benefits of digitising targeted grant relief. Apart from being able to ensure that the funds are used for their intended purpose, he pointed to the data management aspect to support government insights into future events — this includes the quantity of materials demanded and in which specific parts of the country, after a storm.

“The system that we developed tracks all of that in detail to ensure that if something like this happens again, the Government is now able to take data-driven insights to better prepare the country for what is needed,” McGann closed.