Thousands of Jamaicans are rebuilding their homes after Hurricane Melissa, and the Government of Jamaica has teamed up with WiPay to put every dollar to work. 

The Restoration of Owner or Occupant Family Shelters, ROOFS, programme was rolled out on January 30 and WiPay was chosen to power it. 

Now to make sure that the billions of dollars under ROOFS goes directly towards restoring homes, recipients of the grant will receive digital vouchers. 

So let’s find out how those work. 

I’m here at Dunn’s Electrical, one of the places that beneficiaries of the grant can purchase items. 

 Recipients will get a QR code that tracks the amount of money that they have to spend. It’s tied to their ID, TRN and approved grant amount. That means it can’t be transferred, copied or misused. 

When the QR code is scanned at checkout, WiPay’s system confirms who the person is, how much funding is left and if the voucher is still active. 

Artificial intelligence reviews every single transaction by analyzing receipts, even handwritten ones, and makes sure the items match approved categories. 

So if someone tries to use the housing funds for non approved items, the system blocks the payment. 

Every purchase is recorded and tracked so there’s a full paper trail from approval to final purchase. Every dollar is accounted for. 

WiPay’s system is helping to keep public funds secure and provide accountability and transparency. 

Rebuilding Jamaica will take a lot of work, but with systems like this, we can stay on the right track.