Media

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Tourism’s Bahamas travel visa platform is now being powered by Kanoo, a payment processing company owned by young Bahamian professionals making history.

Through Kanoo, Bahamians can pay for their travel visas with the Sand Dollar, a digital form of Bahamian currency authorised by the Central Bank.

“Sand Dollar is a digital currency, not a cryptocurrency,” explained Nicolas Rees, chairman and co-founder of Kanoo. “Sand Dollar is just a Bahamian dollar. It’s Bahamian legal tender which means it is no different than a physical paper dollar. It’s just an electronic version.

“The payment is a feature that is available to any of our clients and businesses that are on the Kanoo platform. We congratulate the minister and Ministry of Tourism on being the first to officially transact using the Sand Dollar. History in the making.”

Kanoo is a licensed payment service provider and is authorised to issue and transact electronic retail payments and electronic currency.

“This means that we have to operate under specific KYC (know your customer) guidelines, AMI (account management information) guidelines, as well as implement certain security elements and protocols,” Mr. Rees said. “So, this license actually puts us pretty much on par with a banking institution.… Read the rest

A Bahamian digital payments provider yesterday said it is expecting “tremendous growth” as the volume of electronic transactions continues to increase amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Herbert Cash, Kanoo’s chief financial officer, told Tribune Business that digital payments – and the adoption of digital wallets by Bahamian consumers – has “increased” drastically over the last few months as users receive unemployment and other social benefits electronically.

He added: “COVID-19 is the main driver for all of this. Banks have even seen greater use of their online banking services. We recognise that more persons are comfortable using the wallet services, and more merchants are using it to collect and process payments.”

Kanoo is an approved financial institution (AFI) for the Bahamas digital currency, the Sand Dollar, and Mr Cash said he is expecting “tremendous growth” for Kanoo and the industry as a whole as this and other digital products continue to roll-out.

He said: “We see not only significant interest in The Bahamas but also throughout the English-speaking Caribbean. Kanoo’s digital gift card platform has been a tremendous benefit for many persons. This is our way to encourage persons to shop locally and support our domestic businesses and the labour market by extension.”… Read the rest

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A digital payments solutions provider is projecting that by year’s end, the number of users on its platform will surpass 100,000, as it now focuses on enhancing the value to merchants and consumers.

Nicholas Rees, chairman and co-founder of Kanoo told Eyewitness News: “We’re seeing tremendous growth with new users signing up by the minute now since launching our cashless payment solution to the Bahamian public in December 2019.

“This trend continues not only on the user side but on the merchant side as well. Merchants are seeing the marketing power and value add from our digital gifting and customer engagement platform.

“Today, the Kanoo family includes thousands of users and merchants, all now fully enabled to transact digitally and gain access to the financial and economic benefits offered by the Sand Dollar.

“We see the interest and new sign-ups occurring daily, such as New Providence, Grand Bahama, Long Island, Exuma, and Eleuthera.”

Kanoo is one of several authorized financial institutions (AFIs) approved by the Central Bank of The Bahamas to provide Sand Dollar services through its app.

Rees continued: “We expect to continue efforts internally through the end of the year to enhance the Sand Dollar offerings and services for our businesses and users.… Read the rest

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Five months after the Central Bank of The Bahamas officially launched the Sand Dollar, local authorized financial institution (AFI) Kanoo has become the first financial institution in the world to have it completely integrated into its system, allowing for interoperability.

Company officials believe this capability proves its commitment to ensuring all Bahamians have access and the ability to transact using Sand Dollars.

Kanoo Chairman and Co-Founder Nicholas Rees said this offering is not only something Bahamians can be proud of but one they can all benefit from no matter where they live.

“This milestone sets the foundation for an open digital payment system and framework for Sand Dollar adoption nationally,” he revealed.

“Kanoo merchants and users were the world’s first to be enabled with direct access to Sand Dollar transactions and accounts through Kanoo’s app and business services. Our users can now transact those Sand Dollars with any other Sand Dollar user outside of the Kanoo ecosystem, including customers of any other authorized financial institution.”

The Central Bank launched its Sand Dollar initiative in December 2019 on Exuma. Since then, Kanoo has been committed to fully integrating Sand Dollars throughout the entire ecosystem, beginning with merchants receiving Sand Dollar payments.… Read the rest

A Bahamian digital payments provider yesterday said it expects its near-20,000 client base to “increase exponentially” after enabling them to transact in Sand Dollars without any restrictions.

Keith Davies, Kanoo’s chief executive, told Tribune Business it had beaten the Central Bank’s “interoperability” deadline for the Bahamian digital currency by a month with its clients able to transact in Sand Dollars with customers of other providers as of today.

Arguing that The Bahamas was achieving “a world first” through the Central Bank digital currency, and “we need to beat our chest a bit more” on the country’s digital payments transformation, Mr. Davies said that prior to achieving “interoperability” or systems integration Kanoo customers were only able to transact in Sand Dollars with one another. “What we have done is set up our system such that anybody from any authorised financial institution (allowed to provide Sand Dollars), whether they are coming into Kanoo or Kanoo customers are going out, can transact in Sand Dollars,” he told this newspaper.

“All our merchants can receive payments from all and sundry who have a Sand Dollar card now or in the future. You don’t have to worry about driving yourself out of business. The Central Bank had set a deadline of the end of March, and we beat it by a whole month.… Read the rest

The Bahamas reported its first COVID-19 case in March 2020. The virus’s rapid spread has resulted in businesses closing, people jobless, homeless, and without food. And, nearly a year later, the need for assistance remains at unprecedented levels.

Soon after the pandemic hit, non-profit organizations like Hands for Hunger sprang into action by partnering with Kanoo, a digital payments platform, to implement a digital food voucher program. Every week, eligible persons received digital gift cards ranging from $50 to 400 in value redeemable at Super Value/ Quality Super Markets. H4H purchased the digital gift cards from Super Value and issued them to clients through our platform.

Hands for Hunger’s Executive Director Keisha Ellis revealed how this food voucher program is critical as the country continues to fight against this global health crisis. Immediately, she said, the team started to receive an overwhelming number of requests for food assistance.

“With the emergency orders and safety protocols coming into effect, many Bahamians were laid off substantially, losing their financial ability to procure food items. This initiative is one way that Hands for Hunger believe it can help address the increased need,” Ellis explained.

“We are trying to reach as many people as possible, but that will depend on funding.… Read the rest

Doing business in The Bahamas can be extremely challenging, as many of the systems in place are still paper-based. While the rest of the world has seen a drastic digital revolution where money transactions are done via online platforms and apps, The Bahamas is now just catching up.

Kanoo’s founders began designing our digital payments platform in 2017, allowing Bahamians to participate in this revolution and do business globally.  They recognized the need for an affordable, convenient, digital payment option as it would bring many opportunities for local companies to faster and more efficiently.

Due to the pandemic, we’ve seen many challenges confronting the B2B space. As it stands, most local businesses rely heavily on in-person processes, costly paper invoices, and slow-moving checks. But, we’ve found that digital payments are a safer, more accessible, convenient, and more cost-effective option, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Also, with digital payments, the money goes directly into your account.

Accepting digital payments saves you time, money, and energy, which gives you the freedom to grow your business. This method ensures your business has consistent cash flow and accurate bookkeeping.  Studies show that customers who have multiple payment options at their disposal can lead to merchants getting paid faster, improving cash flow, and allowing companies to expand at a quicker rate.… Read the rest

Searching for a perfect gift can be considered a painful experience for some. From battling horrendous traffic, to sometimes, empty shelves for a gift you’re not sure about, can be draining. But no worries, Kanoo is your “one-stop-shop” for your gifting needs!

Our digital gift card platform benefits both consumers and merchants, making it the perfect gift for all.

Top 3 Consumer Benefits:

1. It’s Convenient

You can purchase and send a digital gift card through the Kanoo app in just seconds. Choose the recipient and the company you want it from, and let the recipient pick what they want at their leisure. It’s the perfect option for any occasion!

2. It’s Easy & Hassle-Free

Kanoo’s gifting process is simple, from purchase to redemption. Spend what you want, when you want. This option is suitable for the entire family and the perfect way to let your loved ones know that you’re thinking of them. And it’s not limited to a particular season. Digital gifting can be a year-round experience.

3. Satisfaction Guaranteed

Your money won’t go to waste. Recipients are bound to love their gift because they chose it. Everyone in this scenario comes out a winner!

Top 3 Merchant Benefits:  

1. Increases Sales & Brand Awareness

Offering consumers digital gift cards is an excellent source of revenue generation.… Read the rest