WEBDEV (Pvt) Limited says its online payments gateway, Paynow, has processed transactions worth $500 000 over the past year.
BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA
Speaking to NewsDay, Webdev’s group sales and operations director Vusi Ndebele said the platform is now registering growth in the high double digits for month-on-month transactions processed.
“This is still only a small fraction of the potential and well below the volume necessary to realise a return on investment but the numbers are as encouraging as the feedback received from merchants and consumers alike,” Ndebele said.
In its first year of operation, Paynow signed up a number of merchants including insurance companies, hotels, tour operators, e-commerce merchants, schools and universities, transport and logistics businesses, charitable organisations, media houses and government departments.
Paynow makes a small commission on every transaction processed through the platform. Each Paynow merchant determines whether they will absorb the fee, pass it on entirely or split it equally with the consumer.
“We rarely encounter a business that could not benefit from online payments or a consumer who doesn’t want the convenience afforded by the platform so we hope to see widespread adoption of the platform in the year ahead,” Ndebele said.
“We encourage any business that wants to make their services easier to procure and consume to contact us.”
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Webdev also operates Zimbabwe’s largest online marketplace, a property platform and an electronic voucher distribution portal among others.
The primary purpose of an online payments gateway is to provide the most convenient means for consumers to pay their suppliers while also offering real-time notification of payment status and easily reconcilable reports to the supplier/merchant.
“As the Zimbabwean economy continues to contract, businesses must better manage their cash flow, deliver services more efficiently and go further than ever to satisfy their customer’s needs in order to retain their business,” Ndebele said.
“We often see the introduction of online payments by established businesses as part of a wider business transformation strategy that is important both for survival in today’s economy and a crucial enabler for the future.”
He said the power of online payment systems was multiplied when implemented within a partially or fully automated business workflow in which goods may be dispensed or services rendered with minimal human intervention.
Webdev recently introduced Paynow Topup, a separate software product on the internet where the public can purchase airtime and data bundles from all of Zimbabwe’s internet service providers and mobile operators.
