The Tribune

A Bahamian mobile commerce provider says its app has hit the 100,000 download mark through local businesses increasingly using the platform to drive digital sales.

MobileAssist, in a statement, said that when it rolled out its suite of mobile (M-Commerce) products in January 2020, its app - known primarily as a directory service - had less than 50,000 downloads at that time.

That number has doubled in a year as consumers use the app's ‘pay by phone’ features to pay for goods and services at Super Value and Quality Supermarket; Cable Bahamas' REV brand; Aliv; and New Providence Water Development Company.

MobileAssist added that the increasing number of businesses using the app to drive digital sales, growing consumer confidence and the challenge posed by COVID-19 restrictions have all contributed to its growth.

Dr Donovan Moxey, its chief executive and co-founder, said: “We have followed our tech road map and we are constantly updating and adding features that set us apart from our competitors - from both the end user and merchant standpoint.

"An example of this is our $can & Pay with cash back feature launched in Super Value stores throughout New Providence in December 2020.” This service requires no POS (point of sale) system integration, and end users have only to download the app, register, create a wallet and load it to use their phones to pay. As a virtual ATM card, it can withdraw cash at registers.

MobileAssist said 90 percent of users surveyed gave the app an overall rating of 'five stars'. “It was important for us to understand how our customers felt about us. The poll was created using the app’s polling feature, and we were able to gather key customer feedback,” explained Adria McCardy, its marketing manager.

She added that the small number of customers who rated the app lower readily admitted they were new to technology, and their comfort was growing with each transaction. A series of simple YouTube ‘How To’ videos speaking to features has been created to help them.

MobileAssist said transactions have also increased substantially with Bill Pay, $can & Pay with cash back and Donations being the most popular, followed closely by growth in phone-to-phone money transfers and mobile store purchases.

“It is important to add that while we have well-known enterprises using MobileAssist as merchants, our small business base is also increasing month-by-month. We began this journey with less than ten vendors in this category, increasing to more than 120 businesses to-date,” Dr. Moxey noted.

The company said importers, salons, clothing stores, car rental companies and restaurants are among this category, using it as an alternative to pricey card terminals.

Chef Culmer, owner of Tropical Gyros, said: “We were losing sales, especially with the demand for in-store and curbside pick-ups, because we didn’t have the ability to accept carded transactions.

"Implementing the MobileAssist $can and Pay service took no time at all and gave us the functionality needed at a fraction of the cost. As a small but growing business, expense and integration were major factors in the decision to go digital.”

The Bahamian digital currency, the Sand Dollar, will further drive innovation when it launches. The mass loading of payroll accounts has been developed within MobileAssist as the Central Bank’s network improves cash-out points and more ways to spend digital currency.

Dr Moxey said: “We anticipate that the trend toward M-Commerce will continue to strengthen based on our growth trajectory. It is a natural transition from cash to an era where convenience and acceptance of digital spending are on the rise.”

Captions:

Carla Edwards, a small business owner and female entrepreneur, uses the MobileAssist $can & Pay feature At Salon Fusion to facilitate credit and debit card transactions