By Dipo Olowookere
One of the top lenders in Africa, Ecobank Nigeria, has introduced Africa’s first unified digital payment solution aimed to help business owners grow their customer base.
The new innovation is called Ecobank Pay and is a multi-featured digital payment solution built as a core part of Ecobank’s digital financial services ecosystem approach and will deliver unified and instant self-service across a range of interconnected payment solutions.
It can be used by all businesses from small informal micro merchants to large corporates as well as governments, allowing them to offer easy and convenient payment options to their customers in-store or online.
Ecobank Pay includes a rebrand of the Ecobank Scan+Pay QR offering, which allows customers to pay in-store via the Ecobank mobile app. Merchants can now also speedily sign-up for their QR merchant code via the Masterpass QR for Merchant functionality on Facebook Messenger.
As the Ecobank Pay ecosystem expands, it will unify all of Ecobank’s digital payment offerings for internet payments, eCommerce, paying bills via mobile and airtime top via mobile.
The Ecobank Pay QR offering or Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) will continue to allow customers of any bank in Nigeria or beyond, to make payments for goods and services, using their mobile banking app to Scan+Pay with MasterPass, Visa or mCash as the means of payment.
mCash allows merchants to receive payments from their customers on one single Merchant Terminal ID for both Scan+Pay and USSD through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) mCash service by dialling *402#.
For Ecobank Pay Scan+Pay (via MasterPass and Visa) as well as USSD, merchants will receive instant credit on their account with Ecobank. This digital payment solution is targeted at small informal micro merchants, registered small and medium size merchant businesses, corporate and institutional merchants operating in-store or online, as well utilising the social media platform of Facebook Messenger to sign up for QR technology.
“Ecobank is committed to simplifying doing business for the people it serves, and Ecobank Pay is a payment solution channel that will make payments easier, faster, convenient and more secure,” commented Mr Charles Kie, Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria.
“As an enhanced payment platform, it will make business cash flow easier to manage and will help to grow sales as it accepts payment from any mobile phone user at anytime and anywhere, whilst improving both convenience and the client experience. It has no initial transaction charges and is a cost-effective alternative to POS terminals as payments are directly authenticated, pushed and approved by the customers buying the goods or services, therefore limiting the risk of chargebacks or disputes.”
The clear advantages of Ecobank Pay is that everyone can use it regardless of size, and the value it brings through the digital QR code technology that will enable businesses to access more financial services and grow.
Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, Group Executive, Consumer Banking, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, says: “The merchant receives instant credit for all transactions as opposed to the current transaction day plus one (T+1) of a POS transaction. Customers can make payment from any type of mobile phone and notification is provided through SMS, the merchant app and the merchant portal. Ecobank Pay is an innovative, cost-effective and convenient digital payment solution that will enable businesses to enjoy quick settlement, grow sales, increase customer loyalty and make it easier for them to expand into new markets.”
Mr Akintwuntan called on businesses and organisations to embrace cashless payments and calls on religious organisations, government agencies, transport companies, telecom service providers, agency banking service providers, financial payment facilitators, the hospitality, leisure and entertainment sector, e-Commerce and utility companies and all others to harness the opportunities and advantages of solutions like Ecobank Pay, which will move Nigeria and Africa into a more cashless and financially inclusive society. These, and many other business sectors, can embrace the convenience, speed and security of Ecobank’s innovative digital payment solutions.
