KINGSTON, Jamaica – The administrators of the digital payment wallet, Lynk, say they will shortly be launching a new line to its suite business client services, known as LynkBiz.
Chief Product Officer for Lynk, John Matthew Sinclair. (via JIS)The facility, which has been undergoing pilot testing since October 2022, is a web-based platform that will allow micro, small and medium-sized businesses to accept digital payments seamlessly.
These include transactions involving Jamaica’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) – JAM-DEX – for which Lynk is the first provider.
“We are officially launching in April, and there’s a big incentive for the first 10,000 merchants that sign up to accept JAM-DEX payments in their business locations,” said Lynk’s chief protocol officer, John Matthew Sinclair.
Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. Nigel Clarke, had announced during the recent budget debate that the government would be offering J$500 million (One Jamaica dollar=US$0.008 cents) in incentives for businesses signing up to accept JAM-DEX payments, come April 1, under the Small and Micro Merchant Incentive Program.
Sinclair said for the first 10,000 merchants, the government has made provisions for businesses to receive a J$25,000 grant in digital currency.
“You need to have a business certificate, a business Tax Registration Number (TRN), a Tax Compliant Certificate (TCC) or proof of application for the TCC and proof of a bank account. But most importantly, you have to have accepted at least five JAM-DEX transactions in 30 days to qualify for the J$25,000,” he said.
Sinclair said that consumers will also benefit from the incentives being provided and that until March 31, next year, the government will a two percent cash back on JAM-DEX purchases of up to J$5,000.
Lynk app users can easily cash in through any local bank using a debit or credit card.
Sinclair said Lynk’s administrators are confident that LynkBiz will improve the efficiency of services offered by businesses.
“Once you have a device that has a browser, you can access LynkBiz. So there’s no downloading of the application… we’ll set you up. You get your credentials to log in, and once you have a browser, it could be on a phone, laptop [or] tablet, you can access. From there you can show your QR code, accept payments and view your transactions,” he added.
He said that the provision to small businesses is a different and safer channel to offer goods and services and receive digital payments instantly.
“We have over 205,000 users on the platform, to date; [so merchants] will have access to all those users. You can sell on social media and you can sell in person by simply scanning a QR code.
“You can integrate LynkBiz into your website or your mobile app. So instead of meeting up for cash payments or doing a bank transfer, I can easily pay a merchant without having to add you as a beneficiary to my bank account for a one-off payment,” Sinclair said.
