GK MPay mostly used for phone top-up
Published:Friday | October 6, 2017 | 12:00 AM
Subscribers to the GK MPay mobile wallet use it largely to buy phone credit rather than for transactions such as consumer purchases or bill payment.
But GraceKennedy Limited says the product is still in its early stages and the company is still educating persons on its benefits with the aim of increasing downloads and usage of the app.
"The most popular use for GK MPay at the moment is purchasing phone credit. It's a simple, convenient and cost effective way to buy credit for any mobile provider and any person who needs credit be it you the user or someone else," said Group CEO Don Wehby.
GK MPay can be used for remittances, bill payment, peer-to-peer transactions, and payment for goods and services at more than 150 participating retail outlts.
GraceKennedy said it has set a very ambitious target for growth over the next 12 months, while acknowledging that the rate of "installation of the app" has not been going as fast as anticipated.
"There are several reasons for this including the necessary due diligence that is a regulatory requirement. However, we work very closely with our customers and focus on education and facilitation to get them comfortable with the technology," Wehby said.
"Although it's a new product, the myriad of uses and opportunities make it quite attractive once people understand it.
So we are still in the education and customer/merchant acquisition phase of the process," he added.
There are now three mobile money services in Jamaica GK MPay, Quisk from National Commercial Bank Jamaica and Conec from the credit unions.
GraceKennedy launched its product in February, with Flow Jamaica as its technology partner.
"FLOW remains a heavily invested and interested technology partner. Customers on the Digicel network are also able to easily use GK MPay," Wehby said.
GraceKennedy did not disclose the number of MPay users.
"We are gaining acceptance, concentrating on customer education and working on the right mix to make signing up and use of GK MPay more simple and seamless," the CEO said.