Spence

JN Money Services (JNMS) has contracted Mid-Island Investment Limited of Santa Cruz as agent to service its remittance clients at that section of the island.

Clients will only be able to receive funds coming in from JN's remittance markets in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, St Vincent, and the Cayman Islands, and they will not be able to transfer funds overseas.

"We would normally have our agents facilitate payouts with cash that is typically insured according to their specific business operation," said JNMS general manager, Earl Spence, in a company-issued release.

Minimise loss risk

"This strategy essentially minimises our loss risk, as they would not be collecting funds on our behalf."

St Elizabethans wanting to send funds overseas through the JN network, Spence said, could do so at the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) branch, which is also located in the town and on the same street as Mid-Island.

The arrangement for one way transfer only through agents is common to the industry and is used as a management strategy to reduce risk exposure.

Santa Cruz, while not the capital of St Elizabeth, is by far its most commercially vibrant area, with an economy largely built on retailing. The parish is itself home to a population of some 149,000 people, with an economy heavily skewed to agriculture, but also tourism and bauxite.

Venturing into bigger market

JNMS is going after bigger market share of the Jamaican remittance market and is in the process of building out a more efficient money transfer network for wider reach into rural communities. Mid-Island is the third agent contracted - the other two are Barrett's Cambio in Spanish Town and Access Cambio in May Pen.

Jamaica National recently grabbed business from Paymaster to become the exclusive bill collector for Jamaica Public Service Company, and also collects insurance premium payments on behalf of Guardian Life.

Unlike other bill-payment agencies, which charge $30 to $35 per transaction, JN does not charge a fee.

The JNMS network includes four JN Money Shops and 15 JN Money Shop Xpress locations throughout Jamaica, but the JPS contract also gave it access to another 16 outlets.

Parent company JNBS, Jamaica's largest building society, also operates 24 branches islandwide.

business@gleanerjm.com