How NCB Quisk Compares to CONEC Mobile Wallet as Jamaica goes Cashless

Mobile money has taken off in a big way as can be seen by the relentless advertising by NCB Quisk on Television as I'd pointed out in Kelroy's Geezam blog article entitled “NCB’s Quisk Mobile Money off to a good start in Jamaica”.

The Company is touting their product as the way to go when doing Mobile money transactions as the video below shows.

The Mobile Money Platform enables anyone to send money as simply as one can send a text message as pointed out in the article “War of the wallets: Quisk and Mozido face off”, published Sunday, September 04, 2016 by Avia Collinder, The Jamaica Observer.

The Platform enables the account holder to conduct the following transactions:

1.         Send and receive funds

2.         Make purchases at authorised merchants

3.         Add or withdraw money from ATM

Yes, you read that right; you no longer need your NCB Debit Cards, as you can use Quisk to withdraw cash as I'd predicted in my Geezam blog article entitled “NCB launches Mobile Money using cellphones with ATM withdraw coming”. 

Quisk CEO Steve Novak is quick to point out that you don't need mobile Internet on your smartphone, just SMS, to deliver a wide array of services, quote: “[Quisk] is a next-generation mobile money platform capable of supporting a wide array of transaction types and backed up by cutting edge security features. We set out from the very beginning to deliver a product that would work for as many Jamaicans, on as many different devices or networks as possible, through a broad range of transaction types — that is what makes Quisk so unique.”

Mobile money deployments are on the rise in Latin America, the Caribbean with 58 deployments and 146 in Africa. 

However, Quisk has the distinction of being one of few that offers full service on feature phones as well as smartphones, to quote Steve Novak: “Almost all mobile money systems handle P2P (person-to-person) transfers and the majority even support cash in and cash out from merchant agents, but the number that operate fully on feature phones rather than smartphones anywhere in the world or can be pushed to point-of-sale terminals at the registers of merchants like MegaMart or Island Grill so users can pay at the register, is less than 10”.

Quisk is now the only other Mobile Money Platform in Jamaica after CONEC Mobile Wallet, which is being used by JPS Co for Bill Payment on their Smartmeter Platform rollout as noted in my blog article entitled “How US$5 million “JPSCo smart meter rollout means CONEC Mobile Money for Tesla Motors Charging Stations”.

But how does one conduct a Quisk NCB Transaction? And is it easier than a CONEC Mobile Wallet, which is set to go islandwide thanks to JPS Co?

NCB Quisk vs CONEC Mobile - Which one is Free to use

Quisk offers four (4) free services:

1.      Cash in

2.      Cash Out 

3.      Retail payments at local merchants

4.      P2P (Person to Person) 

Good to note that cash out attracts a 1% charge on the amount being taken out, which is basically JA$1 for every JA$100 withdrawn.

CONEC Mobile Wallet, on the other hand, offers seven (7) services and they are not free:

1.      Cash In is free

2.      Cash Out has a flat rate of JA$25.05

3.      Telephone top-up is free

4.      Bill payment has a JA$34.95 charge

5.      P2P cost between JA$11.65 and JA$139.80

6.      Inter-account transfers cost JA$11.65

7.      Retail payments at local merchants cost JA$5.83

So NCB Quick has fewer services than CONEC Mobile Wallet. But most of NCB Quisk’s services are the ones I want right now and are essential free.

NCB Quisk vs CONEC Mobile - Which one is Free to use

CONEC Mobile Wallet uses a website accessible on desktop, laptop or an app on their tablet and smartphones, meaning you'll have to use a Wi-Fi Connection to do a transaction. The CONEC Mobile Wallet will easily use up your Data Plano; Wi-Fi is the preferred way to access the CONEC Mobile Wallet services.

Quisk is SMS-based and thus only costs the user JA$6 to send a text message to a specified phone number to do transactions.

The signup for CONEC Mobile Wallet vs NCB Quisk is slightly different, with both requiring you to actually go to a physical location.

In the case of CONEC Mobile Wallet, you visit one of their 120 agent points with the following documents:

1.      Valid GOJ ID i.e. (driver’s license, passport, national ID, school ID, work ID)

2.      TRN (Taxpayer Registration Number)

To setup the CONEC Mobile Wallet Account requires the following steps:

1.      Complete and submit the paper-based application form to a customer service representative

2.      Install the CONEC Mobile Wallet App CONEC app or web portal

3.      Enter the activation code received via SMS

4.      Create a password, PIN and secret word for their account

NCB Quisk, on the other hand, requires that you visit one of 10 NCB locations with the following documents:

1.      Valid GOJ ID i.e. (driver’s license, passport, national ID, school ID, work ID)

2.      TRN (Taxpayer Registration Number)

To setup the NCB Quick Account requires the following steps:

1.      You then visit the Quisk Portal

2.      Select the ‘Sign up’ option

3.      Complete and submit the form

4.      Receive a temporary registration code via text

5.      Log into Quisk portal using their mobile number and temporary registration code

6.      Change your PIN

Clearly NCB Quisk is less hassle, as CONEC Mobile Wallet uses paper.

Now to use your mobile wallet to send Cash as the commercial above shows!

NCB Quisk vs CONEC Mobile - Which one is Easier to Transfer Cash

Again both CONEC Mobile Wallet and NCB Quisk in how you can achieve this.

In the case of CONEC Mobile Wallet, you use the following steps:

1.      Log into their wallet

2.      Select ‘Transfer – third party transfer’

3.      Select from list of previous recipients or add new

4.      Enter amount to be sent

5.      Confirm amount and recipient

6.      Enter PIN.

7.      The recipient has the least work to do, as they just receive the cash sent.

In the case of NCB Quisk, you use the following steps:

1.      To send cash one will text send + amount to (876)835-7879

2.      Receive a call requesting that you enter your PIN

3.      Receive a ‘Get Money’ code to be sent to the intended recipient

4.      Send this code to the recipient to collect the money sent

5.      Receive a text advising that the money has been collected by the recipient

Please note that in both Mobile money systems, you have to visit the customer service line for each service to add cash to your account in order to conduct transactions.

As it relates to how much money you can send and receive, the BOJ (Bank of Jamaica) has set the limit in two (2) tiers:

1.      Tier 1 - JA$50,000 requiring a valid ID and TRN

2.      Tier 2 - JA$100,000 requiring a valid ID, TRN and proof of address

3.      Tier 3 - JA$150,000 requiring a valid ID, TRN, proof of address and proof of income

Spending or Transaction limits are also dictated by Tiers created by the BOJ:

1.      Tier 1 - JA$15,000

2.      Tier 2 - JA$40,000  

3.      Tier 3 - JA$53,000

So if I had a choice, despite CONEC Mobile Wallet having more service points and service than NCB Quisk, I’d choose NCB Quisk due to their basic free but sms-friendly operation. 

 Here’s the link:

CONEC Mobile Wallet

NCB Quisk