By Anthony Morgan 

Jamaicans now have an easier option of receiving payments online through the payment service provider WiPay. 

CEO of WiPay Caribbean, Aldwyn Wayne, said the company has partnered with the “leading bank” in the local market to facilitate processing and onboarding services. Wayne declined to name the bank at this time, but said a big announcement would be coming very soon.

CEO, WiPay Caribbean

He told Taking Stock with Kailah Reynolds that WiPay had to pivot from its engagement with an earlier partner as that particular institution was not able to provide a service on par with WiPay’s other Caribbean markets. 

That was the part of the reason for a disruption experienced locally with the company over the last few months. Wayne said the company had to seek out the new arrangement to maintain the same standard across the region, noting that it depends on these regulated financial institutions to provide its services.

“When we launched in August we were having a conversation with that local partner, but the process to get onboard with the partner was outside of the scope that we have in the rest of the Caribbean,” said Wayne. He pointed out that it takes between 24-48 hours to implement onboarding services with partners elsewhere without adding a fee.

Wayne said the delay in finding the new partner in Jamaica has cost the company a significant amount of money, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic saw more customers using their platform in other territories.

“In other Caribbean markets like Suriname, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia, Grenada, Guyana, we saw an average increase of 300%. It was very tough for us to put our service on pause [in Jamaica] but we rather do that then have a sub par product,” reasoned Wayne.

The CEO said the partner bank in Jamaica will handle all transactions on behalf of WiPay Jamaica and users will not be required to open an account with that specific institution to get paid. 

Wayne added that WiPay is faster than other services like Paypal and does not require any upfront fee to sign up or get online. However, they do charge a processing fee each time a customer uses a credit card to pay for a product. He added that the company also makes money from partnerships and Government arrangements. 

“The money will settle in any bank account, once it’s a bank in the Jamaican banking system. They will process funds, taking a percentage of 3.8%, settle it in Bank Y and then do an ACH transaction straight into your account at Bank X and that transaction is normally 24-36 hours in Jamaica,” said Wayne.

Wayne reasoned that despite more competitors coming to the market offering similar services since the start of the pandemic, WiPay still has an advantage as it is domiciled in Jamaica and therefore only requires fees in Jamaican dollars.

It’s a huge advantage for Jamaican business owners considering the fluctuation of the foreign exchange market.

“Your payments come in US dollars but your monthly fees would be in Jamaican dollars,” said Wayne.

 Meanwhile, WiPay recently launched WiShops, a new platform similar to ecommerce platforms Shoppify and Wix, but without the requirement of a credit card.

Among other things, the platform can facilitate the build-out of an entire website in five minutes with WiPay as the payment gateway.

“That will allow you to start selling you tshirts 24 hours later and all you need to do is upload to the WiShops site and that money would be processed into any bank account you have in Jamaica,” said Wayne who noted that the company only charges US$29.99 or the Jamaican equivalent each month to host the website and manage data.

He said it would be free for businesses that already own a website with their own management solution. WiShops works by deducting its monthly fee from any sales made through the platform. If no sales are made, users can simply go to their local bank and make a transfer in Jamaican dollars. 

According to Wayne, WiPay, born in Jamaica in 2016, was planning to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) this year, but the CEO said the pandemic delayed those plans until 2021.

He said considerations are also being given to cross list on Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE).

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