Kanoo is a Super App that connects businesses with users and offers an integrated digital wallet, allowing you to send and receive money anywhere in The Bahamas. With Kanoo, transactions are no longer a hassle. Our digital wallet is a safer and more convenient cashless option. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Kanoo Pays founder and Chairman Nicholas Rees to learn more about the company.
Nicholas Rees’ Background
Could you tell me more about your background? Rees said:
Firstly, I’m the proud parent of three boys with my wife of over 16 years. I’ve also had the privilege and honor to become a two-time Olympian, having represented The Bahamas in Swimming at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. During my last year of competition, I lived and trained in Spain, which was really interesting and made a lasting impact on my life. The plan was to open a bar on the beach in the south, but my parents weren’t so keen on that idea, so I came home to pursue an MBA in International Business from the University of Miami and later went on to complete exams for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in 2016.
Since retiring from swimming, I’ve had a diverse career mostly working in the financial industry, primarily focusing on trading and depository solutions in addition to strategic planning and accounting services. My passion has always been to simplify financial services and make them more efficient, accessible and secure for businesses and persons alike.
Formation Of Kanoo Pays
How did the idea for the company come together? Rees shared:
The idea for Kanoo Pays originated from a desire to simplify app usage on a single phone, eliminating the need to switch between various applications. Once the opportunity to align with the right partners on the technical components became real, the concept of Kanoo was officially born.
We have been walking the road towards providing a comprehensive and consolidated ‘Super App’ for the Caribbean. We saw huge potential for our vision early on, having recognized the inefficiencies in traditional financial services, coupled with a lack of access to efficient technology in The Bahamas and throughout the entire Caribbean. This is a region where two-thirds of the 45 million population is unbanked.
There was a clear need for an ecosystem solution that provides seamless, digital payment solutions tailored to businesses and an integrated approach that enables those businesses to sell more products while engaging more customers. We have built the foundation for a platform that will address these gaps by offering faster, more secure, and user-friendly payment solutions and merchant engagement.
It was about bringing innovation to the fintech landscape in this part of the world, by us for us, so to speak. We want the Caribbean to be proud of what we have built, and eventually our goal is to enable our clients, employees and users to become ultimate owners of the technology.
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Rees reflected:
We have had quite a few highs and lows as a company. Hands down, however, my favorite moment was during the launch of The Bahamas’ digital food assistance program for the Department of Social Services during the pandemic. One particular moment that stands out was when, whilst helping persons in need, we met a young lady on the line for assistance; we hired this very same lady on the spot part-time, and she has now become an integral member of our core operational team. It’s moments like these that make doing business enjoyable. We want to make an impact in the lives of those we serve.
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Rees explained:
Our most impactful and fastest-selling product is our Digital Aid Distribution platform, which is integrated into our Super App. However, our digital wallet and payment platform are touted as our core product, designed to streamline payments and financial management for ordinary Bahamians. Our digital wallet houses multiple payment options and is integrated with the world’s first Central Bank Digital Currency, the Sand Dollar. Our merchants can accept digital payments using their Kanoo POS with integrated wallets, including the Sand Dollar, issued by the Central Bank of the Bahamas.
We also provide them with real-time reports and a Customer Relationship Manager (CRM), a web-based tool that features as an interface for business to manage their digital banking services, access CBDCs, and engage with users through an integrated marketing engine that allows them to create digital gift card campaigns, digital coupons, and promote their products within the application. We use encrypted and secure Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to transmit all payment data safely.
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Rees and the team faced in building the company? Rees acknowledged:
The fintech industry is constantly evolving, and regulatory compliance is one of the biggest challenges we face outside of product education. However, we’ve focused on building a strong compliance team and compliance technology to ensure we stay ahead of regulatory changes. We also invest heavily in cybersecurity to protect our users and their transactions, as security concerns are paramount in our sector.
Navigating the compliance landscape becomes even more challenging as we consider multiple jurisdictions. We have taken a technology-first approach to addressing these problems in the future and will be introducing an integrated compliance module in 2025, which will also be available to other fintechs.
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since its launch? Rees noted:
Our technology has been evolving since we first launched, as we focused on providing rudimentary payment solutions and merchant gift cards. Over time, we’ve integrated more advanced features like CBDC integration, enhanced security protocols, and customized white-label platforms with automation tools for businesses to manage their payments more efficiently. We’re continuously improving our platform to incorporate new security features and acquired technologies, further enhancing our offerings.
We are super proud of our Government Payment System, built and deployed for the Ministry of Finance in The Bahamas. This custom white-label solution effectively enables a Government to integrate its country’s Sovereign CBDC wallet into its treasury functions. We enable Governments to process real-time payments for expenditure items and receive real-time payments, whether in person or online, using the country’s CBDC or approved stablecoin.
Based on our experience, this platform is integral for any Government seeking to adopt a CBDC or utilize stablecoins. Our Gov Pay platform integrates with the country’s invoicing and internal systems and represents the beginning of real-time budget-based reporting and government transparency. Controls, authority and limits are customized according to the country’s laws, and the Government fully controls its financial systems.
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Rees cited:
Launching the world’s first Gov Pay system integrated with a CBDC for the Ministry of Finance back in 2021 has led to us being afforded the opportunity to work and collaborate with SAP through their foundry program.
I’m most excited about this interest and the validation of our vision that it has provided to us. We have since begun investing in expanding our CBDC experience, investments and technology to African countries. In collaboration with Emtech, we’re working on cross-border financial ecosystems and central bank infrastructure for the Caribbean and Africa.
We’re also investing in and exploring wearable payment technology and offline payment solutions, which enable transactions even in remote areas. We like to say it allows for ‘payments between two men in a bush,’ or as others might describe it, transactions that don’t rely on connected devices. At the moment, we are working with over 15 banks throughout Africa and in discussions with 2 banks here in the Caribbean.
Customer Success Stories
When asking Rees about customer success stories, he highlighted:
One client operating a small business faced mandated store closings during one of its busiest times of the year, over the Easter Holidays. He had the best hot cross buns on the island and needed help selling them and accepting cash from patrons. He demonstrated the true power of digital connectivity. After integrating Kanoo Pays, he could comply with the lockdown and still engage patrons through our platform. This meant that during the lockdown period, whilst his competitors were closed, he could take and receive payment for orders, and he sold out of inventory.
This was early on in our journey, and a situation I’ll never forget, as this entrepreneur had the foresight and ingenuity to embrace this new technology for his benefit.
Funding
When asking Rees about the company’s funding details, he revealed:
Presently, we are in a growth phase, investing internally and in strategic technologies and jurisdictions. We are targeting annual net revenue growth for the group of companies in excess of $20 million per year before the end of 2025.
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing?
Rees assessed:
We’re focusing oir technology Globally and our licensed Payment operations regionally in the Caribbean right now. We have also begun to engage the Sub-Saharan Africa region and beyond, having now identified partnerships where the digital payment market is experiencing exponential growth.
We believe our expertise in CBDCs will be a significant competitive advantage in the long term and we are seeking the right partners to scale throughout the territories. Our target market includes 45M persons in the Caribbean that are considered unbanked or underbanked. We also target businesses of all sizes, especially those looking to streamline marketplace transactions and engage clients and sales online. We are positioning our unique stack of technology to make it available for other financial institutions and global entities.
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Rees affirmed:
Kanoo Pays differentiates itself from the competition through our commitment to a PPP business model: People, Planet, Profit. We prioritize user experience by designing a simple, secure, and adaptable ecosystem for a wide range of business needs, bringing people and businesses together with the digital tools they need to engage and interact.
Today, our strategic positioning and strength centers around three main pillars of success: (1) technology investments, (2) technology development, and (3) Licensed operations.
Our focus on people first ensures that we create solutions that improve lives. Too many people are unbanked or underbanked in the Caribbean. Being from a small island state fills us with a more profound commitment to the planet that drives us to integrate sustainable practices in our operations as much as possible. Internally, our team is the pulse that makes our heart beat, and this has really been our biggest strength.
Notably, we have an advantage having gained valuable experience launching the world’s first CBDC, and our supportive technology, market knowledge and strategic investments set us apart from any company globally as we are the only company with our unique set of integrated and owned technology stack backed with first-hand expertise.
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Rees concluded:
Looking ahead, we aim to expand into new markets and introduce new features like AI-driven financial analytics. Our goal is to stay ahead of the curve and continue offering innovative solutions that help businesses operate more efficiently.
We’re also exploring opportunities in sectors like blockchain and cryptocurrency to further enhance our platform’s capabilities. We are targeting four Caribbean countries to be live and operational with Payment Licenses in hand before the end of 2025 and will have over 20 banks in Africa deploying our wearable technology.
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Rees concluded:
One of the key areas I’d like to emphasize is how crucial partnerships have been to our growth. Collaborating with financial institutions, the US Embassy in Nassau, tech providers, TechBeach Retreat, Fintech Islands, and regulators have allowed us to scale up quickly while maintaining compliance and offering best-in-class services.
Our work in the digital food assistance distribution program has led us to have a world-class, efficient, and effective platform that is recognized regionally. We are excited about the level of conversation around this program as it eliminates fraud, lowers costs, makes the process easy, and gives the user a sense of pride when paying for food assistance. Based on ongoing conversations, we anticipate having at least 4 governments in the Caribbean region use our digital food distribution program.
