VENTURES AFRICA – In a bid to reinstate its commitment to building a sustainable cashless ecosystem in Nigeria, global payment solutions company, MasterCard has introduced another Internet payment solution for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country – “SME Online”.
With features like invoice payments, batch payments, reoccurring scheduled payments, virtual terminal and web shop, “SME Online” is a suite of value-added services that work seamlessly with MasterCard Internet Gateway Service (MiGS) and extends the benefits of online card acceptance to a broader merchant segment.
MiGS provides a comprehensive Internet payments solution, which banks can offer to their merchant customers who seek to accept payments on their websites from cardholders of all major card schemes wherever they are. Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank currently offer the MiGS services to their merchant customers.
A key benefit for merchants is that the system can be self-managed. It is designed to enable SME merchants to establish an internet presence for their businesses, including website design and processing of batch and individual card payments, the company said.
Other advantages to merchants include: allowing them build their own web shops – including shopping carts and online product catalogues, and providing them with a custom branded e-commerce solution to manage and authorise online payment transactions in over 145 currencies.
Once merchants create their own web shop, they can start accepting online shoppers on a simple platform that embeds lots of functionalities. They can also add new functions at any time.
“With the likes of Jumia.com, Nigeria’s No.1 Online Retailer, and wakanow.com, Nigeria’s No.1 Online Travel Website, already signed on to MIGS payment gateway solution, shoppers in Nigeria are already enjoying the benefits of convenient and seamless 24/7 online shopping. SME Online will extend these benefits to thousands of smaller merchants and open the world of online shopping to millions of Nigerians,” Country Manager, MasterCard West Africa, Omokehinde Ojomuyide said.
