By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A digital payment service that facilitates the receipt of business payments called SwiftPay has been introduced by Access Bank Plc.
The platform was designed to boost the facilitation of payments between SME and retail customers in the digital space by enabling customers to make quick, easy and secure digital payments on social media platforms to merchants.
“SwiftPay is free and the processing charge is discounted up to 15 per cent to ensure merchants keep most of their earnings.
“In recent times, e-commerce has been challenged with the rise in fraud on social media, we have ensured that every merchant registered on SwiftPay carries a ‘verified by access’ stamp to authenticate the page giving customers confidence when they transact.
“We have been focused on providing solutions targeted at boosting the economy because we believe it is our responsibility to contribute to the stimulation of economic growth.
“With the launch of SwiftPay by Access, we are renewing our commitment to providing the much-needed technical support to our SMEs,” the Group Head of Emerging Businesses at Access Bank Plc, Mrs Ayodele Olojede, said at the unveiling of the new product in Lagos.
She also explained that the lockdown experienced in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in less in-person interactions and less in-person payment options.
According to her, statistics from a survey carried out post-lockdown showed that MSMEs were impacted by cash flow, revenue and sales while adding that the impact of the pandemic made more apparent the lack of infrastructure and access to digital resources for small businesses.
“This is why Access Bank introduced SwiftPay to support the digital transition and growth of SME businesses.
“This product is part of the bank’s commitment to supporting SMEs to meet their business objectives despite the times.
“The new service comes in form of a payment link that can be hosted on merchants’ social media pages and sent to anyone to pay and conclude business transactions.
“It is easy and takes less than 5 minutes for interested merchants to sign up as it is convenient and time-saving for everyone,” she said.
Dipo Olowookere 
Aduragbemi Omiyale