New Fintech Partnership to Strengthen Jamaica-Africa Relations
Originally published by South Florida Caribbean News Read the original
KINGSTON, Jamaica — JN Money Services has partnered with Kenya-based fintech company WapiPay to create a new payment channel into Jamaica. Officials say this move could deepen financial and commercial links between Jamaica and Africa.
The partnership comes at a key time in Kenya-Jamaica relations. It follows Kenya’s opening of its first resident High Commission in Kingston in July. The Kenya High Commission says the new mission will help expand political dialogue. It will also support economic cooperation, trade, and investment. It will also strengthen people-to-people ties between the two countries. Furthermore, it has identified Jamaica as an important gateway to the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) market.
Against that backdrop, Mwenda Karisa, Kenya’s high commissioner to Jamaica, said the partnership fits into the mission’s broader bilateral strategy. This strategy aims to create practical opportunities for cooperation between Kenya and Jamaica.
“It is the kind of partnership that we envision when we started the mission here; partnerships not just in fintech but in many other areas of collaboration that will strengthen the bilateral relations between Jamaica and Kenya and we’re looking forward to being part of this interesting journey,” she affirmed.
JN Money and WapiPay Partnership Launch
Ambassador Karisa was delivering remarks at a joint press event to launch the JN Money and WapiPay partnership at the JN Group Corporate Offices in New Kingston recently.
WapiPay has a network of over 100 countries. For the co-founders of the fintech company, the partnership offers an opportunity to tap into Jamaica as a gateway for “connecting the global south with the global west.” They have already established payment corridors in Europe in the north and Asia in the east.
WapiPay co-founder Paul Ndichu said the company’s capacity gives the partnership relevance beyond traditional remittance flows. Moreover, it could allow the payment network to support Africans seeking opportunities in different markets.
“Seventy percent of Africans are below the age of 22. That’s a huge number and they’re very interested in different parts of the world. Let’s just imagine what the next five years could look like, at least for young Africans in terms of businesses, in terms of opportunities, what can they do, what can they set up. We’re joining the dots into those opportunities,” he said.
WapiPay co-founder Edward Ndichu said the company aims to complete transactions in under 30 seconds at no cost to customers. This, in turn, will help drive growth for both Jamaica and Africa.
Explaining that WapiPay handles transactions that can be particularly complex because they involve multiple currencies and jurisdictions, he added that “We pride ourselves in not only being able to secure those transactions but significantly reduce the cost of those transactions. The only thing the customer should be considering is the foreign exchange.”
Send Money to Jamaica
The Bank of Jamaica approved the partnership, under which JN Money will serve as WapiPay’s exclusive local payout conduit and use its remittance infrastructure to deliver funds to recipients in Jamaica. WapiPay customers will be able to send money to Jamaica through its app for cash collection at more than 90 JN Money locations across the country or direct deposit into recipients’ local bank accounts.
Horace Hines, general manager of JN Money Services, said the partnership will expand JN Money’s payment ecosystem and broaden how payments are made between Jamaica and international markets. It will also create opportunities to increase transaction volumes across the company’s existing payment networks.
“If we look at the market in Jamaica, valued at US$3 billion and with just about nine to 10 million transactions per year, it is obvious that WapiPay will be able to generate some transactions through their network for us to deliver here in Jamaica,” he pointed out.
“It will also open new markets for us. The fact that WapiPay is opening in other markets like Canada, naturally it will also allow Jamaicans in those markets to send funds home,” he added.
Acknowledging the high cost of sending money home, he said this is a challenge for Jamaicans in Africa. He added that the partnership should help people across the continent. It should make it easier and cheaper for them to stay connected.
The service will be introduced in phases, with a full rollout targeted for December 2026.
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