Tech tutorials, howtos and walkthroughs

With this series I don’t set out to be the bearer of novel solutions or brilliant ideas but just to spark conversations and thinking that could potentially lead to solutions, ideas and ways forward to potentially get these issues addressed.

I don’t know in the case of Jamaica if its the BOJ/GOJ and its policies or the banks themselves that has lead to the stagnation of the influx of technology in the industry, primarily as it relates how we as B2C and B2B interactions.

Mobile banking has finally taken off in a way we might have intended it, but the world has developed more cutting edge/emerging technologies that have not been/minimally applied to Jamaica. Such as;

  1. Mobile Money
  2. End to End E-commerce transactions for Jamaican companies
  3. Mobile Wallets (Apple Pay/Google Pay/Samsung Pay) (Smartphone penetration is so high why not?)
  4. Enhanced Security Card (Chipped, Contactless Credit Cards
  5. Cryptocurrency

Yes some of these have to go through the necessary review and validation if it’s something we want to adopt, however, I think a system must be set up to consistently evolve the legislature or policies to the ever so changing dynamics of the world and always making changes, making recommendations and having a plausible perspective on these new emergences.

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The question might come up what can these emerging technology achieve for us;

  1. Initiatives to get the currently unbanked/underbanked population banked
  2. Businesses can have a wider reach and not rely and the typical brick and mortar models
  3. Cashless society because it literally costs us to print and maintain money
  4. Curtail fraud and theft
  5. Open Banking APIs & services: Several traditional banking organizations can partner with non-traditional providers to offer expanded banking services. Example Auditing, Payroll, HR, Accounting, etc
  6. Blockchain technology can be used for secure document transfer and to reduce settlement costs.
  7. AI and Machine Learning: Organizations can use of chatbots to improve customer service, while machine learning can be used to decrease fraud and improve personalization.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC) “By 2020, consumers will need banking services, but they may not turn to a bank to get them. Or, at least, maybe not what we think of as a bank today. The so-called sharing economy may have started with cars, taxis, and hotel rooms, but financial services will follow soon enough.”

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Are we poised to be counted among the ranks of these sharing economies/digital economies or are we behind the rest of the world by 5 – 15 years?

Yes we know our people are from a generation where technology lives within the television or someones imagination but with these conversations, dialogues and nudges we can quickly move them into the new way of thinking we did it with the advent of the cell phones so we can do it in our financial sector or any industry.

With these changes entrepreneurs/innovators/dreamers can look internationally and see what ideas exist, do the necessary assessments and tailor by-products for our Jamaican or Caribbean very unique environment. This is the type of empowerment, tooling and policy making we need as a country in finance and any other industry to grow and be competitive.

Hopefully this helped to spark a thought or conversation among your peers. I hope to continue this series and try to go through various industries to the best of my knowledge so stay tuned.

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