Digicel Financial Services, a subsidiary arm of Digicel Group, is seeking to expand services under its MyCash unit, including the addition of international money transfers in Jamaica through Paymaster.

Currently, users cannot receive international remittances in the MyCash wallet; with company officials sharing with the Jamaica Observer on December 12, “It is a service that we have in the pipeline and hope to launch soon.”

However, it was noted subsidiary Paymaster which offers MyCash locally is licensed by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) to receive remittances. As such, the official said, “anyone is able to collect international remittances at any of the more than 200 islandwide locations from companies like Boss Revolution, MoneyGram and more.”

Officials explained, “These are Paymaster’s partners, so people in the Diaspora can use any of those companies to send money to their loved ones and their family members in Jamaica can collect the money at Paymaster locations.”

Launch

It was noted, “MyCash by Paymaster was launched in July this year [2022] under the Bank of Jamaica’s FinTech Regulatory Sandbox environment. We continue to operate under the BOJ Sandbox and are going through all outlined phases to provide Jamaicans with optimal service successfully.”

Digicel operates in 32 markets of which financial services are offered globally. Digicel MyCash (formerly Digicel Mobile Money) is a mobile wallet that allows one to transfer money. In selected markets, customers can deposit funds into their MyCash mobile wallet using VISA debit or credit card and other methods.

Digicel told Business Observer, “MyCash by Paymaster is a digital wallet that lets you do it all with electronic cash; enabling users to manage their cash on the go. By removing the need for a bank account, MyCash provides a way to make fast, reliable, safe, and convenient daily financial transactions — all at the convenience of your mobile phone.

In December 2015, Digicel acquired a majority stake in Paymaster, one week after Digicel acquired a controlling stake in a similar payment firm called Prism, which operated in 22 countries with offices in The Bahamas, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.

Paymaster has relationships with over 40,000 locations in the US and Canada.

International transfers would be a new service for the company which, at last report (February 2022) controlled 28 per cent of the bill payment service market.

The BOJ indicates that bill payments climbed to over $400 billion in 2021. Total inflows at year end December 2021 was $436,814,264,826 representing 13.3 per cent increase in value over 2020 when payments totalled $385,607,734,658.

The increase in the volume of payments in 2021 was 7.1 per cent with 23,557,519 transactions recorded. The year before, bill payment transactions totalled 21,985,693 by numerical volume.

International money transfers

Paymaster indicated in a recent press announcement that international money transfers were on its menu of services to be offered soon.

Asked how much of the money transfer market in Jamaica is being targeted by Paymaster, officials said, “We aim for every Jamaican with a mobile phone to be part of the MyCash family, whether via a smartphone or a ‘banger’ phone. This is an important first step towards enabling people to increase their access to financial tools that empower them and enable them to make secure digital transactions easily, conveniently and securely.

They added, “In addition to the cash-in, cash-out, cash-hold features and MyCash-to-MyCash transfers, MyCash users enjoy instant access to Paymaster’s world of payment and collection services at their fingertips. We anticipate that MyCash users will account for a significant percentage of the local money transfer market, based on the strong take-up and usage of the app for its other service features.”

At the current time, customers can use the MyCash wallet to send and receive money across Jamaica as MyCash-to-MyCash transfers; cash-in (add funds) or cash-out (withdraw) to your digital wallet; buy mobile top-up; and make bill payments.

Sign-up involves download of the MyCash app from the Google Store and App Store and completion of account setup.

It was noted, “Once they access the service, they will be required to input their phone number — regardless of the carrier — full name and TRN. After a few minutes, they will have access to the MyCash digital wallet’s services. Additionally, Digicel customers may dial *172# to set up an account using a non-smartphone.”

To begin using MyCash, customers are required to add cash to their wallets by cashing in at any of the 51 MyCash agents located at Paymaster locations islandwide.

Digicel officials stated, “MyCash’s objective is to serve Jamaicans by giving them ease of access to the financial system and empowering them to achieve their personal goals. We invested in state-of-the-art technology and platforms that enable MyCash customers to access a service that meets their financial needs, using the convenience of the app on their smartphone. MyCash is safe, and reliable, and is supported by built-in security and encryption features of the highest standard.

“This helps to reassure MyCash customers that their cash is safe and that it will reach its destination, whether the goal is to credit another MyCash account or a biller. We will continue to invest in improving the app’s security and features that distinguish MyCash’s unique value.”