To eliminate the risk of payment repudiation during and after a business transaction between small and medium enterprises and their customers, the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Patrick Akinwuntan has urged business owners to adopt the use of the lender’s Ecobank Pay.
Akinwuntan advised merchants in commercial trade to take advantage of the benefits Ecobank Pay is offering the general public, guiding against hidden charges that result from the traditional way of payments through POS.
Nairametrics had reported last week, that Ecobank’s decision to make its digital capacity available for use is in line with the bank’s quest to support and facilitate business development, as well as tailor Ecobank’s digital platform to meet SMEs needs.
“The traditional ways that payments are made using cards on PoS means that the merchant, the small business person, the trader, the supermarket owner, the distributor, that entity that is holding a POS needs to wait for at least one day to get the value of the payment.
“The second reality is that because the payment is made using the card of the customer on a device of the merchant, international payment rules allows the person who is making the payment to repudiate if he or she finds a debit that he or she does not agree with. These because you are putting your card on the gadget of the merchant and you really don’t have control if any other payment has gone through your card.
On how Ecobank Pay works;
“But the Ecobank Pay solution is QR based, therefore it is you making the payment that determines that you are making a payment. There is no input or activity on the part of the merchant. You just look at the QR or the merchant ID and the same way you are the one that buys airtime yourself, or you are the one that makes a transfer to your cousin, you make a payment instantly using the merchant ID or the QR image of the merchant.
“In that manner, the merchant has more confidence that he or she will receive credit instantly. So the first advantage for the merchant is that instead of waiting for one day you receive your funds immediately. That is very important for working capital, particularly for small businesses.
Akinwuntan said both merchant and customer are in control of Ecobank Pay;
“Secondly, you the customer making the payment, you are in total control of your own payment information. You don’t handover your payment information to the merchant, you only handover payment, the cash that you are paying through this process.
“And finally, the merchant is assured that all the payments that I have received is not with a risk that somebody will repudiate. After one month you can get a claim such that the person who made the payment is contesting. The Ecobank Pay platform, there is no opportunity for such repudiation. So these factors makes much more convenient particularly for our teaming SMEs.
He further stated that the Ecobank Pay brings digitalisation into the economy;
“And this for us is critical in bringing more digitization into the economy; enable the small unit business entities to participate more effectively in the economy. It enables us to grant credit faster, save faster, reduces the risk of security in terms of exposure to cash or exposure to somebody pilfering your credentials.
“So we will be bringing the message of Ecobank Pay to every household, to every business area, to markets, we have started but this year we will be bringing it to every household.”