As the digital payments market continues to heat up locally, digital wallet Lynk plans to add more features as it positions to engage a larger percentage of the unbanked population in the coming year.

According to Vernon James, chief executive officer (CEO) of TFOB, more popularly referred to as Lynk, the key to unlocking an even greater share of the market is not only to meet but exceed the needs of customers.

Launched in December 2021, the platform after its first year of operation boasts over 180,000 registered users, over $1 billion in transactions and a growing portfolio of features, more of which it plans to add starting January. The previous launch of an ABM feature allows Lynk customers to cash in or cash out of the wallet using any of NCB’s 300 ABMs islandwide.

“The company is focused on a feature rich 2023.

“We’re taking an aggressive approach to innovation, giving users more ways to pay with Lynk and transfer money. We’ve been testing the remittance feature and are confident in the added convenience and functionality that users will find when they receive money from overseas with Lynk,” James said.

Since receiving its remittance licence in November, Lynk, a subsidiary of the NCB Financial Group (NCBFG), is being pushed forward as a game-changing fintech solution earmarked to become a market disruptor.

“In January, Jamaicans will be able to claim their remittance safely and easily with Lynk, pay their bills with those funds, top up, shop at over 5,000 businesses, or withdraw via any of our free cash out options,” James further noted.

“We’ll also be introducing debit cards later in 2023, enabling users to pay in store and shop online, internationally, using Lynk. This new offering will give access to card-based and digital services to a large cross-section of unbanked and underserved individuals,” he added.

Lynk already can be used to exchange money, pay for goods and services, top up mobile phones and pay utility bills. The launch of the new features marks the culmination of a year’s work by Lynk and parent company NCBFG, in fast-tracking objectives for digital and financial inclusiveness and as they help government to push the use of its Jam-Dex digital currency. Lynk is currently the only digital wallet offering digital currency.

Following the launch of a merchant platform for businesses, plans are now being fine-tuned to facilitate an islandwide roll-out of the service. James, also revealing plans for the formal launch of the LynkBiz platform, said that the feature now in a pilot phase is expected to be added early in the new year.

“This will see the inclusion of larger businesses using Lynk as a payment option,” the company said, noting also that it was now working with organisations such as CSport — a sports streaming service with rights to the World Cup and English Premier League (EPL), and Fesco service stations to drive usage on the app.

“We’re actively onboarding new businesses — especially national chains or franchises which will bring greater value to our customers. This is with a goal of greatly exceeding our transactions from year one and getting more users on the platform,” James said.