‘Punitive PoS cost disenfranchises SMEs’ – The punitive cost of Point of Sale (PoS) machines has disenfranchised small and medium business (SMEs) from having acceptance terminals, the Managing Director, Clane Company Nigeria Limited, Ibraheem Babalola, said in Lagos at the weekend.
Speaking during the launch of OnePay for Business, a mobile app that empowers merchants to use their mobile phones as PoS systems by Sterling Bank Plc, Babalola said there is a gap between PoS terminals and cards.
He said: “Available data indicates that we have about 300,000 active PoS terminals servicing over 50 million cards. And the super expensive nature of PoS at about N80,000 per one disqualifies many SMEs from having acceptance terminals. OnePay for Business accepts several million SMEs into the financial system by empowering them to use their mobile phones as Point-of-Service systems. OnePay for Business is a very innovative product.”
He added that the OnePay for Business is revolutionary and mind-blowing.
“When you think about the issue the banking industry had had about scaling traditional point of sales from the cost perspective, you will appreciate the impact of this solution on the financial system,” he said.
He added that it allows merchants and their customers to receive and make cardless, contactless and cashless payment for goods and services in a near-cash form using QR Code, Bluetooth and PaywithSpecta.
Group Head, Digital Banking at Sterling Bank, Dipo Alabede said the app meets the need for a hygienic payment method in a COVID-19 world. “The contactless payment feature on the app is essential for merchants and customers because it keeps both safe as the world combats the coronavirus pandemic. It is also an effortless way to make payments.”
According to Alabede, OnePay for Business is easy to use and available for download on the Android Play Store and iOS Store. It requires a smartphone with an internet connection to set up. After setting up, customers can log in to use payment options that include QR Code, nearby payment (Bluetooth) and PaywithSpecta.
Read also: Three Nigerian banks begin QR code payment in Ghana
A QR code is a unique barcode containing the merchant’s business name, QR merchant ID, and other information encoded into it. Instead of manually entering data into their mobile phones, customers would scan a merchant’s QR code using the QR feature on their app to start the payment process.
Alabede explained that customers could make payment using the app’s QR feature if it is enabled as a part of their mobile banking offerings. “To pay merchants, customers have to open their OneBank app or any other bank mobile app to select the QR service option, validate and complete the transaction.” He identified being able to make payments anytime and anywhere, even without a wallet or sufficient cash at hand, as one of the benefits of using the Sterling QR Service. He added that merchants could also accept payments anytime and anywhere by using the mobile app.
Also speaking, the Executive Director, Commercial Banking at Sterling Bank, Tunde Adeola, urged merchants to download and use the app, stressing that it would save them money and reduce their cost of operations. He added that the bank looks forward to supporting all merchants that will download and use OnePay for Business.
Chief Digital Officer of the bank, Olayinka Oni, described OnePay for Business as another means of enriching lives through immediate settlement value for merchants.
He assured merchants and customers that the bank will continue to enrich the product, ensuring that it delivers on its promise leveraging the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBBS) ecosystem for its overall benefits.
Oni said Sterling Bank is prepared to do business with credible partners and happy to partner with the NIBSS on the project.
