Lynk launches new ABM feature, targets remittance market next
Published:Tuesday | September 20, 2022 | 7:20 PM
In its pursuit to onboard more customers before the year comes to a close, Vernon James, CEO of digital start-up TFOB (2021) Limited, more commonly known as Lynk, says work is now under way for the launch of a remittance feature on the mobile wallet.
Talks of Lynk going after a piece of Jamaica's US$3.5 billion remittance market comes amid the launch of an ABM feature on Tuesday, which allows customers to cash in or cash out of the wallet using any of NCB's 300 ABMs across Jamaica.
Since its launch in December 2021, Lynk has, to date, facilitated over $500 million worth of digital transactions through its 145,000 users and 3,200 micro merchant vendors.
That number is expected to skyrocket with the addition of the remittance feature, James said, but for now, the company is watching the volume of business it will gain from the addition of the ABM feature.
The rollout of the new feature marks the culmination of a year's work by Lynk and its parent company, the NCB Financial Group.
The launch comes just ahead of the busy Christmas season at which time billions of dollars are expected to be circulated throughout the economy.
“Having tested the feature over the last few weeks, Lynkies can now deposit and withdraw monies from their Lynk wallets using NCB abms islandwide. In the test phase, we have seen over 1,300 transactions, but we expect to see exponential use of this feature over the coming months as users have access to the 24-hour ABMs and we are also drawing near to the Christmas season,” James said.
According to James, the process is simple.
“All you have to do is visit the ABM, choose whether you want to cash in or cash out of the Lynk wallet in the app, scan the ABM QR code using your Lynk app which will connect with the ABM, and complete the transaction,” he said.
“That's it; it's fast, easy and secure. There is no need to swipe a card so there is no worry about card fraud, plus with Lynk's world-class encryption software users' funds will be secure in the digital wallet,” James continued.
NCB has been relentless in enforcing its digital vision since the onset of the pandemic when there was a shift towards more digital payments.
The financial conglomerate is said to have spent an estimated $500 million on the mobile wallet product, which not only aligns with the group's ambition and vision for digital inclusivity, but also with the Government's push for increased use of the Jam-Dex digital currency.
According to a recent Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) research, Jamaica's unbanked and underbanked represent approximately 40 per cent of the population.
Financial innovations under the Bank of Jamaica's Fintech Regulatory Sandbox such as Lynk are expected to gradually lower that number.
In a bid to speed up the rate at which customers are added to the Lynk platform, James says plans are under way to expand its merchant network to include digital transactions from large companies while working is being done on the remittance feature.
A timeline for the rollout of both was not disclosed.
Today, Lynk's merchants are predominantly micro businesses in the food and beverage, fashion, and consumer goods categories.
The mobile wallet can also be used to top-up their mobile devices with credit on local telecoms networks.
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