There is an uptick in the number of persons utilising remittance services provided through the digital payment wallet – Lynk.
Lynk is currently the sole wallet facilitating transactions involving Jamaica’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) – JAM-DEX. It is an app that can be downloaded on mobile devices.
Speaking during a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on March 23, Brand and Sponsorship Manager for Lynk, Kemoi Burke, said through a partnership with MoneyGram, the new feature on the app will make it easier for persons to receive remittances.
“All they need to do is download the Lynk app, use their ID and TRN (tax registration number), and they are able to collect remittances instantly within the Lynk app, all day, every day. No lines, no fees, no need to take transportation and incur more costs,” he said.
Mr. Burke explained that the process “is actually simple” noting that “nothing changes on the sender side”.
“The sender will go to a MoneyGram location [overseas] or they [can] use MoneyGram online or the app to send funds to a person in Jamaica. Let’s say Miss Mary is in Wait-a-Bit, who wants to collect a remittance. Typically, she would have to wait until the following day to go and collect said remittance. With Lynk, you will receive it instantly,” Mr. Burke said.
The Lynk/MoneyGram partnership allows the sender to transfer up to $100,000 per day.
In order to access the funds on Lynk, the receiver will need to follow the security guidelines that are a feature of the app.
“So once Miss Mary has the Lynk app, all she has to do is go to the app, click on the remittance feature, input the reference number that she would have gotten from the sender and, ‘click’, your money will be there,” Mr. Burke assured.
Persons creating Lynk accounts must complete full onboarding with a tier-two account.
This includes adding a valid government-issued ID, in addition to the required biometric data, which offers added security on the platform.
Chief Product Officer at Lynk, John Matthew Sinclair, told JIS that persons wishing to send money to Jamaicans from abroad, can do so at almost any location globally that has a MoneyGram outlet.
Using the Lynk platform, the receiver can easily move from digital currency to cash, which is provided through National Commercial Bank (NCB).
“The beauty about Lynk is that we are a part of a large ecosystem. NCB is our banking partner and we now have access to their ABMs, which are open 24 hours. Once you have received that money from the sender through MoneyGram and you need the cash immediately, then you can easily go to an NCB ABM and withdraw the cash,” Mr. Sinclair said.
He noted that this new remittance feature is much safer and convenient for users and is encouraging persons to sign up and create a Lynk account.
Currently, there are more than 200,000 Lynk wallet holders, and the administrators of the service plan on partnering with other remittance companies to improve the new offerings to their customers, pending approval by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ).
Plans are also being made to allow local users of the digital wallet to send money overseas, using the remittance feature.
The administrators say since the launch of the feature on March 10, there has been an increase in the number of persons receiving remittances during the period outside the regular nine-to-five business hours.
In his opening 2023/24 Budget Debate presentation, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, said he was pleased with the public response to the use of the Government’s JAM-DEX.
He indicated that total JAM-DEX transactions for 2022 totalled $357 million.
