Susan Gordon, Business Reporter

Earl Jarrett (right), general manager of Jamaica National Building Society, and Damian Obiglio, president and CEO of the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited, unveil the new logo for the JN Money Shop Xpress stores during the official launch of the partnership, Monday, Terra Nova Hotel, Kingston. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

JN Money Services Limited (JNMS) will in another week take over as bill collector for power utility Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), launching the service this week with a promise to erase the transaction fee that its predecessor had implemented.

JNMS, a subsidiary of the Jamaican National Building Society group, replaces Paymaster as JPS's partner, acquiring a potential half a billion clients in the process.

The service will operate as JN Money Shop Xpress starting February 25, from 16 locations islandwide leased from JPS.

Some 40 JN staff will be deployed throughout the network.

JNMS said Money Shop Xpress will allow customers to pay other utility bills at its locations, notably National Water Commission and Cable and Wireless, also without incurring a fee.

Damian Obligio, president of JPS, said at the launch that JN's no-fee plans fitted into the utility's strategy to contain costs to customers.

CHARGE PER TRANSACTION

The Paymaster service was also free at inception, but CEO Audrey Marks later added a $30 charge per transaction, after the GraceKennedy-owned Bill Ex-press had implemented a $35 fee on clients using its facilities.

Cable and Wireless was unable to confirm its participation immediately, but NWC said it was in the final stages of negotiations.

"We will be coming on board," NWC Business Support Services Manager Jennifer Wright told Wednesday Business. "It's just to work out the arrangement."

JN Group General Manager Earl Jarrett has also signalled that pen-ding regulatory approval by the Bank of Jamaica, Money Shop would in the future seek to leve-rage other business from its bill- paying clientele by offering financial services.

"These JPS commercial retail outlets represent a unique opportunity for the development of retail financial services," said Jarrett said at the official launch of the partnership Monday at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in Kingston.

"In time, subject to the Bank of Jamaica and board of directors' approvals, we would roll out other financial services such as offering savings, remittance services, facilitating mortgage and loan repayments."

The JN Money Shop Xpress brand will remain restricted to the JPS partnership.

Jarrett declined comment on details of the arrangement with JPS, but Wednesday Business had reported before that the company had been willing to strike a deal on the management of the JPS stores at $10 per transaction.

It is understood that the 16 JPS outlets attract at least 150,000 clients at two-month intervals.

OFFSET EXPENSES

Explaining the decision not to impose a bill payment fee, Jarrett said the volume of business anticipated is projected to offset the expense associated with collections.

"We looked at the number of transaction times, the fee, and projected that we will be experiencing a profitable relationship," he said.

"We are saying from year one, the projection is a cash-positive one."

Jarrett anticipates that the value-added financial services could come on stream within a year of the partnership.

Already JN says it has cornered about 23 per cent of Jamaica's billion-dollar remittance market.

With the 16 JPS outlets, its brand will now be displayed on 44 distribution outlets islandwide.

"Our drive in our organisation is to be the No. 1 or No. 2 player in the market," said Jarrett, noting that JNMS contributes just about 20 per cent of the group revenues, which at year end March 31, 2007 stood at $74 billion.

The JPS partnership has now given JN a presence in Portmore, St Catherine, and Black River, St Elizabeth.