Lynk, a digital wallet, is the only approved wallet for Jamaica’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), JAM-DEX. Lynk’s Chief Product Officer, John-Matthew Sinclair joins us on the Podcast to discuss Lynk and its current offerings, as well as: reasons for the seemingly slow adoption of JAM-DEX in Jamaica; the issue of financial inclusion in the Caribbean region and the barriers to entry beyond the AML and KYC requirements that must be followed, and new product offerings that are coming on stream, and what the future holds for Lynk.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple iTunes, Google Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music and Stitcher!

Financial inclusion. It has become the most common catchphrase when speaking about the unbanked and underbanked in the Caribbean region. Although figures are limited, across the region, a large proportion of our population remains underbanked and unbanked for a broad range of reasons. Or some, it is by choice, as cash, is still king in the region, and so they have little need for the services banks offer. But for many, the reasons stem from not satisfying the anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) rules that commercial banks must abide by.

The recent emergence of digital wallets and central bank-backed digital currencies (CBDCs) across the region was heralded as solving financial exclusion. With the near-ubiquitous use of mobile/cellular phones and the lower AML and KYC requirements that can be more easily established in the digital space, greater financial inclusion seemed assured. Unfortunately, that has not been the case.

Since the launch of CBDCs in The Bahamas, the Eastern Caribbean and Jamaica, there have been reports of the slow take-up of CBDCs, and we even wrote an article on why we thought that was the case. In Jamaica, Lynk, a digital wallet and the only approved wallet for Jamaica’s CBDC, JAM-DEX, has put financial inclusion as part of its value proposition. In less than two years since it officially launched, Lynk has been broadening its offerings and appears to be well on its way to transforming Jamaica’s digital landscape – not just digital money, whilst also keeping financial inclusion of the unbanked and underbanked firmly in focus.

 

Introducing our guest

John-Matthew Sinclair

Called a digital evangelist by many, John-Matthew Sinclair is driving digital transformation in Jamaica as the Chief Product Officer at Lynk. He leads a team of designers and developers who are bringing disruptive innovation to the Payments industry through Jamaica’s leading digital wallet. 

John-Matthew has been driving the charge for digital transformation in Jamaica for several years. He has over 15 years of experience in Transformation, IT, Project Management, Startups, and Marketing.

Prior to joining Lynk, he served as the CEO of Creditinfo Jamaica, Jamaica’s first Credit Bureau, bringing digital-first solutions to market. He also worked at the National Commercial Bank as the Digital Transformation Manager and an Agile Coach. There, he was charged with improving customer experiences and operational efficiency.

John-Matthew holds multiple Agile & Project Management Certifications from the PMI, Scrum Alliance, IC-Agile just to name a few. John Loves sports and is a thrill seeker and adrenaline junkie.

 

Insights into our conversation

Having interviewed some of the central banks that have issued CBDCs in the region, it is interesting and beneficial to have the perspective of a digital wallet provider that is trying not only to build a brand, but also change the mindset of ‘cash first’. It was thus instructive to hear John-Matthew discuss some of the on-the-ground challenges Lynk has had to tackle, including addressing the device barrier that often exists in conversations on financial inclusion, but tends to be overlooked.

Also, in creating a digital wallet/digital payment platform, there is incredible potential to leverage that platform to provide a broad range of services not limited to money transactions. With the agile model it has adopted, Lynk is able to release, test and iterate new offerings in weeks, not months or years. And in having the backing of Jamaica’s largest commercial bank, Lynk has been (and should continue to be) able to forge strategic partnerships that are making its goal of becoming a lifestyle platform more than possible.

Below are key questions posed to John-Matthew during our conversation.

  1. To start, tell us a bit more about yourself and your role at Lynk
  2. How would you describe Lynk, and why was it created?
  3. The Lynk app was the first platform to facilitate JAM_DEX transactions, which is Jamaica’s Central Bank Digital Currency. How has the take-up of the app and use of JAM-DEX been?
  4. One of the challenges that CBDCs across the region have been experiencing is slow adoption. Do you have any thoughts about why adoption has been slow, although we seem far more receptive in other digital spheres?
  5. A key reason Caribbean central banks have given for launching their CBDCs is to increase financial inclusion, which is part of Lynk’s value proposition. How well (so far) has Lynk been able to be accessible and inclusive?
  6. In launching a new product, and being Jamaica’s first digital wallet, what have been some important learnings Lynk has made?
  7. One of my concerns is the number of money-related apps consumers may need to juggle: their banking apps, and one or more digital wallets. Why adopt a CBDC when it is liable to complicate a person’s life?
  8. Lynk has recently started to focus on the remittance market, and recently the company partnered with MoneyGram. Why and what value can Lynk provide that perhaps is not being served already?
  9. There are reports that another platform, LynkBiz will soon be launched. What will that platform do, to whom is it targeted and when will it be launched?
  10. What does Lynk want to achieve in the next 3 years?

 

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Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit: Lynk; Tech Daily (Unsplash); Shawn Fields (Unsplash); Torsten Dettlaff (Pexels) Lynk

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support:  Mayra Bonilla Lopez