Bahamas News

In today’s global business environment people are paying less and less with cold, hard cash and are moving more and more toward plastic– credit or debit cards.

Staying abreast of the global trend, Tripoint Communications this week launched its wireless solution for credit card payment.

The communications solution company is the first local company to conduct beta testing of the wireless credit card terminal in The Bahamas.

President Christopher Brown presented straw vendor Sheanda Cooper, Torpedo of Torpedo Limousine Services and Action Jackson of J.R. Action Water Sports with wireless terminals, enabling their businesses, which cater mostly to tourists, to accept credit card payments.

Tripoint also announced on Wednesday a “partnering agreement” with Euronet, the number one provider of prepaid electronic top-up services in the world, having over 386,000 clients connected to its datacenters globally.

“Because we understand that today, we live in what is commonly referred to as a global village, Tripoint has further strengthened its position by having aligned itself with several international partners who on a global scale provide various technological solutions that either complement what we do or empower us to offer additional solutions to the local community,” said Mr. Brown.

“Today this alliance provides Tripoint the ability to make available to the local market the provision of any form of prepaid Top-up including that of the “Pin less” solution, which is currently being used in the U.S. and many other countries around the world.”

The partnering with Euronet enables Tripoint to offer, “Electronic prepaid Top-up” which a customer uses to add minutes to his cell phone electronically.

Mr. Brown revealed that Tripoint is the number one provider of this solution locally through the verifone credit card terminals that are distributed throughout the Bahamas.

The company’s international partner for wireless solution for credit card processing is Verifone, a leader in providing credit card payment solutions.

Tripoint had its genesis in the back trunk of the car of its president in 1996. Christopher Brown, a business administration graduate, after doing stints at First Home Bank, Commonwealth Bank, Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation (BATELCO) and Exxon Mobile, started providing inks and ribbons for credit card machines.

By 1998 the business started in earnest when Mr. Brown, his brother Owen and Kenneth Strachan all with banking experience, incorporated Tripoint and started business with headquarters on Nassau Street.

The core business of Tripoint is providing point-of-sale solutions.

“We offer to the business community solutions that will help to facilitate and enhance the day to day operation of their business; whether it’s the acceptance of credit card payments, the managing of inventory, or the process of ensuring that transaction are accurately mapped to the appropriate GIL accounts on the back-end; to successfully accomplish this we provide both hardware and software solution,” said Mr. Brown.

“Maintaining credit card terminals was something BATELCO previously had responsibility for, but during the time when they were downsizing and outsourcing, it was an area that fortunately for us, we were rightly positioned and had already been engaged in point of sale solutions.”

A neutral entity, Tripoint works along with the clearing banks and merchants to facilitate credit card service to consumers.

“We write software applications for these terminals that can also provide additional ser vices… several different applications can run across them that are independent of each other,” said Mr. Brown.

“For instance, a merchant may want to issue a loyalty card to some customers; may want to offer selective discounts; may want to manage the movement of employees; or facilitate the sale of phone cards. We provide all these added value services to the business establishment.”

Tripoint has a presence in Freeport, Abaco and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

By Norman Rolle
The Bahama Journal