Home / News / Nov / 2016 / JCS IT Knowledge Forum

JCS IT Knowledge Forum

Douglas Halsall, Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Integrated Systems, AIS, is encouraged by the significant traction gained in the market by mobile money solution, Quisk.

Halsall was presenting on business opportunities that individuals can embark on with the use of digital cash and mobile payments at the Jamaica Computer Society IT Knowledge Forum held at the Jamaica Conference Centre last week.

Quisk was first implemented in 2010, through a partnership with AIS, and has grown in popularity, revolutionizing the way people do business in Jamaica and the Caribbean. In fact, the National Commercial Bank Jamaica Ltd is the first financial institution to use the Quisk platform. Victoria Mutual Building Society, LASCO Financials and First Heritage Credit Union are also using the Quisk platform.

“Quisk is bank centric not telephone centric, we use all the standards of the bank and ride on the same trails as the banking systems so you can interface with ATMs and monitor transactions. This is why NCB had to be our first partners, they have over 75 per cent of the point of sales terminals in Jamaica, with NCB it opens us up to everywhere there is a NCB terminal, they also have the most ATMs including cash-in services”, he continued.

Young entrepreneurs can now tap into this solution to translate their ideas into reality with a quick and easy payment platform.

Additionally, Jamaicans face significant challenges developing relationships with banks, where they have an account, and are burdened with the rising cost of transaction fees. Quisk allows customers to do transactions without physically going into a bank or speaking to a bank representative.

“There are limited or no focus on ecommerce transactions in Jamaica. One of the things that alienate ecommerce in Jamaica is that many credit and debit cards can’t be used on ecommerce sites because it compromises the pin. Only 10 per cent of Jamaicans have a credit card, digitizing cash will open a market for ecommerce in Jamaica giving many great young entrepreneurs a golden opportunity market and sell their products or service”, he added.

“With Quisk you are able to send resources to loved ones using your mobile phone, even when they are otherwise inaccessible. In our setting, we can easily send funds to family and friends across the island with none of us having to pay huge fees or go into a bank or payment agency,” Halsall said.

Quisk can be used for very small value transactions for which you would not have reached the minimum for a credit or debit card, as there is no lower limit to how much you can spend, top-up or share.

“Imagine paying your taxi fare, bus fare and even buying your lunch from a road side vendor, or produce in the market, without having to take out cash. Quisk will allow you to do all of that. In addition, if you have children who have gone off to school you can send them money from the comfort of your living room and they will be able to access the funds immediately. You can also pay weekly or fortnightly paid workers using the platform and they can access the funds without having to go to the bank”, Halsall explained.

The process is very simple. No bank account is needed to open a Quisk account, the process requires minimal personal information and persons have to sign up at the bank with their TRN and Government issued ID only. You will be given a password and you will need a mobile phone thereafter. The mobile money solution works on any network carrier in the island and can be accessed on smart phones, iPods, tablets or the computer.

Quisk essentially allows you to have digitized cash – “your money, without cash, without cards, without wallets…in your bank”, Halsall said.

-Loop Jamaica