Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) has begun putting its EvoCash wallet and payment card through an employee trial, advancing a more than $1-billion fintech investment that it expects to start contributing positively to earnings next year.

About half of SVL’s approximately 650 employees have signed up since the pilot began in mid-September, with participants already using the product to transact at businesses. The company expects to widen access progressively as it works through the Bank of Jamaica’s approval process, although it has given no date for a full public roll-out.

“The central bank has a clear process to ensure the product is robust and we are abiding by that process,” SVL Executive Chairman Gary Peart told the Business Observer.

EvoCash pairs a digital wallet with a prepaid Mastercard, completing a suite of financial services that already brings in revenue from remittances, phone credit and bill payments. SVL is counting on the wallet and card to attract more users and drive enough business across those services to deliver sustained profits.

“We expect fintech to start contributing positively to earnings in 2027,” Peart said.

The trial follows years of spending on the business. In August, Peart disclosed that SVL had invested more than $1 billion in fintech and was preparing to bring the wallet and card to market, subject to regulatory approval.

Alongside fees from financial services, Peart identified savings from processing lottery purchases through SVL’s digital channels as a potential boost to earnings. He said those transactions cost the company less than sales through its traditional retail network, allowing it to retain more from each purchase made online.

SVL nevertheless sees room for retailers to earn from the new business.

“Whilst digital transactions are important for future business, the retail footprint is also very important,” it said.

The company expects the wallet and card to provide an additional revenue stream for selected retailers, though it did not specify how they would participate or the fees they would earn.

The investment in payments follows SVL’s disposal of Evolve Loan Company’s loan portfolio to Dolla Financial, freeing resources for its digital financial services business while retaining an equity interest in the microlender.

SVL is pursuing that expansion while working down debt and carrying higher financing costs. The group raised $2 billion in July and settled approximately $2.6 billion in debt obligations over the nine months ended September. Finance costs still climbed 27.89 per cent to $834.84 million, primarily reflecting refinancing undertaken in the final quarter of 2025.

Group net profit rose 19.44 per cent to $2.19 billion over the period, outpacing growth in gaming income, which increased to $43.01 billion from $41.78 billion. Earnings also benefited from a $240.97-million fair value gain on held-for-trading shares.

— Karena Bennett