Jump to content

JPay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 50.204.14.130 (talk) at 20:13, 6 November 2014. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

JPay
Company typePrivate
IndustryCorrections Technology and Services
Founded2002
HeadquartersMiramar, Florida
Key people
Ryan Shapiro, CEO
ProductsMoney Transfer
Email
Video Visitation
VideoGram
MediaAccount
JP4 Tablet
Educational Resources
eBooks
Music Downloads
Parole & Probation Payments
Release Cards
Number of employees
250
WebsiteJPay.com

JPay is a privately held and licensed money transfer company based in the United States with its headquarters in Miramar, Florida. The company offers money transfer and payment services to the corrections industry as well as technology, such as email, tablets, VideoGrams, video visitations, to keep millions of inmates connected to their friends and familes.ncluding money transfer, Email, and video visitation. Currently, JPay offers its services in 33 states, including 27 state departments of correction (DOC), hundreds of county correctional agencies, and at least 2 privately run federal facilities.[1] The company is widely considered the market leader in corrections technology.

History

JPay was founded in 2002 by CEO Ryan Shapiro as a way to facilitate online electronic funds transfers. JPay was the first company in the United States to pioneer this practice; previously, the predominant ways to put money on an inmate’s “books” were mailing money orders or visiting a prison and making cash deposits at a walk-up window. The company first implemented this in a handful of county jails in the Northeast and contracted with the Missouri Department of Corrections in 2004.

In 2005, the company moved its headquarters from New York to Miami, and in that same year expanded its service offering to include an email program. By 2008, JPay had developed an inmate kiosk, which could be installed in the inmate's living areas, allowing them to view and respond electronically to emails. The kiosks, which are known now as JPay Living Unit Kiosks, include a webcam and telephone handset along with a keyboard and display, paved the way for Video Visitation (2010), the first correctional video calling service not based on a point-to-point model.

JPay introduced an inmate MP3 player (the JP3) in 2009 along with a library of music tracks available for digital download.[2] Prisons that sell JPay music products often confiscate the music devices already owned by incarcerated individuals. In 2011, JPay moved its headquarters from Miami to Miramar, Florida, to accommodate a larger call center.[3] A year later, JPay launched a computer tablet called the JP4 Tablet, designed for the corrections industry, which provides inmates access music and eBook donwloads, games, and stored emails, VideoGrams and photos.[4][5] The decision to permit use of the JP4 Tablet, and the full extent of its functions, is made by the state corrections departments. The JP4 Tablet has been distributed in seven DOC agencies, including North Dakota, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Virginia, Michigan and Washington.[6][7]

Business Model and Growth Strategy

In a 2012 Bloomberg Business Week article entitled "JPay, the Apple of the Prison System," Ryan Shapiro, the company’s founder and CEO, stated, "We're looking for products that an incarcerated individual would want to buy and a corrections facility would accept." He went on to state, "We take outside applications, redevelop them for prisons specifically, and then deploy them…the prison doesn't pay for any of (our services)." And, as the JP4 Tablet was being launched, Shapiro was quoted saying, “Think about education, think about games; it's endless where we could go. We think it's as big, if not bigger, than the money-transfer business."[4]

Products and Services

Money Transfer

In 2002, JPay was the first to introduce an electronic financial transaction option to the corrections industry. An incarcerated individual's friend or family member can use JPay’s Money Transfer service to deposit money to an inmate’s commissary or trust account. Customers can send money to their loved ones using a credit or debit card at JPay.com, by phone, and via the JPay mobile app on an Android or iOS device. Select prisons and facilities even have JPay Lobby Kiosks, which allows a customer to deposit funds into an inmate's account using cash or credit/debit card. The company has a relationship with MoneyGram allowing customers to use cash to send money to an incarcerated individual. Cash is accepted at MoneyGram’s U.S. agent locations, like Walmart, CVS/pharmacy, Ace Cash Express, and Albertsons,, .[8][9] Additionally, the company processes money orders on behalf of its contracted agencies.[10][11]

Technology and Communication Services

Communication plays an important role in an incarcerated individuals' life, both while serving time and when released. According to a 2013 report from RAND,[12]incarcerated individuals who received education while in prison were 43% less likely to become repeat offenders. Other studies[13]have consistently found that inmates who maintain close contact with their family members while incarcerated have better post-release outcomes and lower recidivism rates.

To help facilitate communication and reduce recidivism, JPay provides technologies and services that help educate, rehabilitate and keep incarcerated individuals connected to their loved ones. Communication can be facilitated through email, VideoGrams and inmate video visitation. These services are available for friends and family either at JPay.com or the JPay mobile app. The company has also created the JP4, which is a handheld device and computer tablet made specifically to be used by inmates.[14] The JP4 Tablet[15] is available at select prisons and allows the inmate to draft emails, send VideoGrams, listen to music, play games, read eBooks, and watch movies. Inmates must sync to the JPay Living Unit Kiosks, which are located in inmate common areas, to download and purchase media, send and receive email as well as manage their funds.

Customer Service Call Center

JPay offers an in-house call center with highly-trained customer service representative who are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to answer all inquires and process payments and money transfers. The Inmate Support Services team works directly with incarcerated individuals on product and service questions. The call center’s Business Support Team handles more personalized phone inquiries, as well as comments and questions received through JPay.com and the company’s social media channels. The Quality Assurance team ensures all inquiries are handled at the highest standards of customer service.

Parole and Probation Payments

JPay provides payment options for parolees and probationers to make community corrections and court-ordered payments.[11][16] As part of its parole and probation services, JPay also offers a release card,[16] which provides instant access to a returning citizens' remaining trust account balance. It can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted.[11] While all agencies contract to use JPay for Money Transfer services, they do not all utilize JPay’s full ranges of services.[14]

Money Transfer Violation

JPay was fined $80,000 by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking in 2011 for violating the state’s Money Transmitter Act.[17] In total, JPay has been fined $408,500 across seven states.[18]

Partnerships

Through sponsorships and other initiatives, JPay supports Sesame Street Little Children Big Challenges: Incarceration, Defy Ventures, Creative Corrections Education Foundation and 1HeartArt. Recent organization support in the media includes, Huffington Post and the Columbus Dispatch.[19][20]

JPay is also an affiliate or sponsor of:

References

  1. ^ Nick Leiber, JPay working to be Apple of prison system, SFGate, August 20, 2012
  2. ^ David Peisner, Captive Audience: The Music Business in America's Prisons, Spin, May 9, 2013
  3. ^ Narayan Bhat, JPay Relocates its Call Center to Miramar & adds 75 New Jobs, TMCnet, April 18, 2011
  4. ^ a b Nick Leiber, JPay, the Apple of the U.S. Prison System, Bloomberg Business Week, September 12, 2012
  5. ^ Donna Rogers, From Flintstones to Jetsons, Corrections Forum, April 2014
  6. ^ Kimberly Railey, Some prisons let inmates connect with tablets, USA TODAY, August 18, 2013
  7. ^ Zach Schepis, Freedom Behind Bars? - Orange Is The New Black Week, BreakThru Radio, September 26, 2013
  8. ^ "Sending Money". Mdoc.state.ms.us. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  9. ^ "Transfer money, online money transfer and bill pay | MoneyGram Global Money Transfer". Moneygram.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  10. ^ "CORRECTIONS - Money - Sending Money to a Prisoner via JPay". Michigan.gov. 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  11. ^ a b c "JPay Inmate Services - Send Money, Send Email, Send Packages". JPay.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  12. ^ Lois M. Davis, Robert Bozick, Jennifer L. Steele, Jessica Saunders, Jeremy N. V. Miles, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education, Rand Corporation, 2013
  13. ^ Alex Friedmann, Lowering Recidivism through Family Communication, Prison Legal News, April 15, 2014
  14. ^ a b Leslie Kraft Burke, JPay offers innovative services to corrections; grows revenue, staff, South Florida Business Journal, September 28, 2012
  15. ^ Jeremy Glass, I played with a tablet made for prison inmates, Supercompressor, November 5, 2014
  16. ^ a b "JPay". Corrections Marketplace. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  17. ^ Ford Turner, Florida Firm Fined $80,000, Reading Eagle Business Weekly, February 7, 2012
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Time was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Priscilla Frank, Inspiring HOPE Art Challenge Turns Former Current And Former Inmates Into Artists, HuffPost Arts & Culture, October 1, 2014
  20. ^ Joe Blundo, Joe Blundo commentary: Prisoners give to fund for children of inmates, The Columbus Dispatch, October 16, 2014
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=JPay&oldid=632735337"