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Figure 57. Share of Locations per MTO, By Parish, 2007 100%
VM XOOM RAPID REMITTANCE JN MONEY TRANSFER SENVIA SUNMONEY TRANSFER
80%
SWIFT CASH CARIBBEAN AIRMAIL
60%
UNITRANSFER MONEY EXPRESS TRANSFER PLUS
40%
MONEYGRAM
20%
WESTERN UNION
0% Kingston
Hanover
Portland
St. Catherine
St. James
St. Thomas
Westmoreland
Source: Authors’ calculations based on data from Bank of Jamaica.
Since its creation in 2004, JN MoneyServices has been another major remittance player, and is comparatively strong in remittance transfers between Jamaica and the UK and USA. Of their more than 200 agents globally, more than 50 percent of them are in the UK market. Recently, JN Money Services has increasingly focused on Canada given the increasing flows of temporary migrant workers. These migrant workers, who are traditionally from lower income segments of the Jamaican population,76 send a large portion of remittances back to Jamaica. JN Money Services, unlike other MTOs in Jamaica, introduced a JN Debit Card in 2002, and this allows remittance recipients to pick up remittances in any amount from any ATM in the country. Transfers to this debit card now comprise 30 percent of JN’s total Jamaican remittance transactions. The remittances are first deposited into a JNBS account from the sender’s side, and the remittance recipient can then sign an agreement (which can subsequently be changed) to receive cash immediately without the need to hold a JNBS bank account, or to make a direct deposit arrangement. A JN Debit Card does not need to be approved by the remittance sender and recipients are typically notified of remittance arrivals through text messages sent to their cell phones.77 Today, many remittance companies offer bill payment services, for an additional charge, allowing customers to pay specific household bills (such as electricity and water) through them. CAMBIO, a money bureau, is also often conveniently located on the same premises as remittance company agents. 76. Interviews with officials from JN Money Services. 77. Ibid.