Laura Matthews and Gareth Manning, Gleaner Writers
Brian Goldson, chief operating officer of GraceKennedy Money Sevices. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
JAMAICANS ARE sending between US$8 and US$9 million overseas each month, with most of the funds going towards the payment of overseas school fees, said Roger Williams, vice-president of operations in Jamaica for GraceKennedy Money Services.
This would amount to a leakage of about US$100 million each year form the economy. Foreign exchange inflows from remittances for year 2004 stood at $1.4 billion according to official figures.
"This is a fraction of the amount which comes into the region, but we have an interest in continuing the growth of that area," Mr. Williams said. He was speaking at the re-branding of GraceKennedy Money Services (GKMS) at its New Kingston offices on Wednesday.
An explosion in demand for tertiary education has seen a mushrooming of institutions providing such training in Jamaica. But it has also spurred thousands of Jamaicans to go overseas to secure specialised training despite the higher cost of such studies.
GraceKennedy Money Services - the generic brand under which Western Union Money Transfer, FX Trader and Bill Express will now fall - currently handles cash in excess of J$5 billion per month through its 300 distribution points across the Caribbean. In addition, those non-deposit-taking money services within the GraceKennedy family serve more than eight million customers each year.
STRENGTHEN PERFORMANCE
Chief Operating Officer, Brian Goldson, said GraceKennedy wanted to highlight the individual brands' connection to the GraceKennedy brand and to thereby strengthen their perfor-mance throughout the Caribbean, North America and, eventually, the United Kingdom.
"Introduction of the new single brand for GraceKennedy Money Services will in no way dilute the impact of the individual brands," Mr. Goldson emphasised. "In fact," he added, "the GraceKennedy Money Services brand is expected to do for the money services division of the Company's operations, what the name GraceKennedy has done for the Food Division."
As the exclusive agent for the Western Union Money Transfer brand in Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, GraceKennedy makes the remittance services of that world-renowned brand available to consumers in all those locales, and also has a management contract with one of two agents in Haiti.
Additionally, GraceKennedy's FX Trader - a foreign exchange cambio - is available in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, while Bill Express is available in Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia and Dominica.
Mr. Goldson declared that the more than 300 distribution points that GraceKennedy Money Services have already established around the region have helped the company to create a 'footprint' in the Caribbean that he believes is unmatched by any other money services provider.
A SIGNIFICANT ASSET
"This is a significant asset that GraceKennedy Money Services is seeking to leverage," he continued and credited some of the success being experienced to the work being done by the CEO of GraceKennedy, Douglas Orane, to market the Grace-Kennedy brand throughout the wider Caribbean.
Mr. Goldson also noted that the GraceKennedy brand already enjoys some success in the U.S. market. According to him, the Western Union Office that GraceKennedy Limited runs in New York has become one of the leading locations in that city for remittances. "People of Caribbean descent bypass other Western Union locations to utilise the services offered by the GraceKennedy operations," Mr. Goldson said.
Mr. Goldson said the company would now be better prepared to compete with other global financial giants.
