Suncity Supermarket is located on the northern tip of the island of Taveuni, famously called the garden of Fiji. Located on the beachfront, with a view over a nearby privately owned island, Suncity supplies many of the numerous resorts along the coast of Taveuni and its neighbouring islands, as well as operating a weekly scheduled delivery to all of the villages accessible by road.

Taveuni is one of Fiji’s most popular holiday destinations, but there are no bank branches on the island and dealing with cash is a constant challenge for both businesses and individuals there. Suncity’s success is due in large part to the innovative approaches of its general manager, Rohil Chaudhari. Mr Chaudhari has embraced digital financial services as a way to create a competitive advantage and catering to his clients’ needs.

Operating as an agent for both Westpac Bank and Vodafone’s M-Paisa, Suncity allows account holders to deposit and withdraw money for a small fee at their outlet, which not only attracts more customers, but also reduces the amount of cash being held at the shop. The excess cash is taken by resort owners who transfer the equivalent amount to the company’s bank account. This is done to avoid risky journeys, laden with cash, to their bank’s nearest branch in Savusavu on the neighbouring island of Vanua Levu.

Because of the challenges associated with cash and banking, Mr Chaudhari is a strong advocate for the island shifting to a cashless economy. He was an eager early adopter of Vodafone’s QR Code payment system and was intrigued by the potential of e-commerce to help him effectively serve remote communities on the island.

While the company does take online orders by email or through their social media page, most of the remote orders are still taken over the phone and paid for on delivery. However, this system is prone to human error: items get forgotten and cash gets misplaced. When Mr Chaudhari was approached by Pacifikart, the e-market shopping platform that focuses on Pacific diaspora communities in New Zealand to buy good for their family back in Fiji, he leapt at the opportunity to market his goods to a wider audience.

Suncity already operates a delivery service to most communities on the island, so making the transition to e-commerce was a natural next step. The Pacifikart platform relies on card payments processed through payments aggregator Stripe. To tailor their offering to this new customer base Suncity designed hampers that would appeal to diaspora communities looking to support their families from afar. Mr Chaudhari is hopeful that, with increased awareness of the benefits of digital financial products, e-commerce will become more prevalent among remote communities on Taveuni and more widely in Fiji. However, he is under no illusions regarding the challenges that remain. Mobile connectivity is patchy out of the main villages on the island making it almost impossible for many local communities to benefit from e-commerce sites or apps. Many people also do not have the smart phones needed to get online or pay with a QR code on delivery. Finally, people still seem to prefer to make a phone call or buy the goods in person.

Unlike most businesses in Fiji and the wider Pacific, Mr Chaudhari has invested in a fully e-commerce compatible ERP system for his business that is hosted in the cloud by a New Zealand-based company. With the right conditions, Suncity will be well placed to guide its customers along the next steps to a fully digital economy.

[1] QR Payments allow Vodafone customers to pay for goods by scanning a code using the M-Paisa app. The merchant is charge a 30c or 5% commission, whichever is lower.