Oct 2010 Financial News

Bill Express hits 60,000 collection points in North America

Oct 15, 2010

Business has dipped marginally for Grace-Kennedy group's money-services division, notwithstanding a 14 per cent increase in transaction fees for bill payments, but the company says it expects a shift in fortune by year end because of its expanding presence outside the Caribbean into North America.

"We are processing payments for Jamaican companies at more than 60,000 Western Union agent locations in the USA and Canada now," Noel Greenland, vice-president of marketing and product development at GK Remittance Services, said Wednesday.

GK Remittance, through its proprietary bill-payment service, Bill Express, began collections in North America less than a year ago.

Around the same time, in December 2009, Bill Express introduced a J$5 increase in fees in its home market, from J$35 to J$40 per transaction, to offset higher operational costs, said Greenland.

Fees were previously hiked in 2005.

In the first six months of this year, GraceKennedy's money-services businesses generated income of J$2.14 billion, which was a slight reduction of 1.2 per cent from the J$2.17 billion made in the comparative January-June 2009 period.

The Jamaican conglomerate is also regional agent for Western Union, its minority partner in GK Money Services Limited.

Half-year profit for the money segment dropped from J$711 million to J$608 million.

The Jamaican bill-payment market has been sluggish this year, as the recession creeps into its third year.

GK's rival, Paymaster Jamaica, also tacked on J$15 to its fees, a 43 per cent jump from J$35 to J$50, which took effect in August. But the company's chief executive officer was said to be on jury duty this week and unable to comment on the increase.

Greenland said that GK's December fee hike was the result of exchange rate, telecommunication and security costs, plus general inflation, with no plans for a repeat.

Instead, the company is focused on cost controls, which means "constantly reviewing our cost ratios and making adjustments where possible," said Greenland.

"Over the last few years, the focus has been on technological improvements, aimed at efficiency and enhanced customer experience," he said.

Currently, Bill Express operates in Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Dominica and St Lucia with plans to enter new regional markets.

In its home market, Bill Express has been heavily advertising the fact that it is doing collections at more than 200 locations for a growing number of client companies, last counted at 34.

Competitor Paymaster lists 41 companies on its website.

GK Group Chief Operating officer Don Wehby said in July, in a Trinidad Guardian interview, that Bill Express experienced a seasonally slow first quarter but was expected to show improvements in transaction growth towards the end of 2010, with the addition of new billers to the service.


Source:
austanny@yahoo.com
Jamaica Gleaner
Friday October 15, 2010

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20101015/business/business6.html