DIGITAL commerce platform GiftMe is looking to expand its customer base and diversify revenue streams following the recent launch of a travel booking portal on its platform.

The addition of travel services marks the latest evolution for the five-year-old company which has steadily expanded beyond its roots as a gift card provider to becoming a fully fledged digital lifestyle and payments platform. Management believes the new offering, combined with its integrated rewards ecosystem, will help to drive the company’s next phase of growth as competition intensifies within Jamaica’s fintech and e-commerce sectors.

Co-founder and chief operating officer (COO) Rashidi Thomas, in an interview with the Jamaica Observer, said the travel feature is expected to become a significant contributor to business growth, with the company projecting revenue increases of approximately 30 per cent month over month as customer adoption gains momentum.

“When customers book travel through GiftMe they will earn cash back. Nobody else is doing that in the local market, and as such our goal is to become the main place where people can go to pay bills, shop, book travel, and earn rewards for everyday transactions.”

Launched this week, the travel service allows users to earn between one and three per cent cash back on flights, hotel stays, and vacation packages, depending on their membership level. Management expects the incentive to attract new customers while encouraging existing users to conduct more of their day-to-day transactions through the platform.

The travel feature forms part of a wider strategy to position GiftMe as a one-stop digital marketplace. Beyond its original gift card business, the platform now facilitates utility bill payments, mobile top-ups, cash back rewards through linked debit and credit cards, and online food ordering for pickup at participating merchants.

The company is also exploring online grocery ordering and delivery services as it seeks to expand its footprint across essential consumer spending categories.

“We’re focused on everything that people need in their daily lives. Whether it’s paying bills, buying groceries, ordering food or booking travel, we want customers to think of Giftme first because they know they’ll be rewarded,” Thomas said.

The latest expansion comes as the company doubles down on the Jamaican market, temporarily placing regional ambitions on hold. While Giftme had previously signalled plans to expand across the Caribbean, management said growing opportunities at home have prompted a renewed focus on strengthening its domestic presence.

Founded in 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic by three tech entrepreneurs, Giftme initially sought to help brick-and-mortar merchants generate sales through digital gift cards at a time when movement restrictions disrupted traditional commerce. Since then, the company has evolved into becoming one of Jamaica’s largest digital gift card platforms while steadily broadening its service offerings.

To date, Thomas said the company has processed more than $4.5 billion in transactions, issued over 700,000 gift cards, and built a network of more than 400 merchants and 600 corporate clients.

The platform also now records approximately 65,000 active monthly users, with management targeting a doubling of this traffic as new services are introduced.

At present, linked-card transactions for online shopping and mobile top-ups account for the largest share of activity on the platform.

Despite concerns about slowing economic activity and external shocks — including weather-related disruptions that could affect Internet connectivity and stall operations — Thomas said he remains optimistic about the company’s growth prospects.

“As a digital company, events that impact connectivity can affect us but many of the services we provide are essential services. Aside from weather-related disruptions, people still need to eat, pay bills, and transact various businesses online, even during challenging economic periods,” he noted.

Further increasing its use of artificial intelligence, management said the tool is already embedded across large portions of its development processes and customer service operations, including automated support agents that assist users through the platform.

“We believe we are at the forefront of where digital commerce is heading,” Thomas further said while noting that consumers are always in search of easier ways to transact business. “Our goal is to bring those services together in one place while rewarding them for every transaction.”