Nedbank has introduced Money Message, a payment platform that allows small and micro businesses to accept in-chat payments from their customers through WhatsApp, in partnership with Mastercard and fintech firm Ukheshe.
According to Nedbank, the solution will allow merchants to send an invoice to any customer via WhatsApp and request payment.
Their customers, in turn, may make a payment directly from the website, according to the company.
Chipo Mushwana, Nedbank’s executive for emerging payments, says, “The need for a diverse range of contactless payment methods is more relevant today than we could have possibly imagined, as we aim to restore the economy by giving businesses the ability to transact in a safe and secure way.”
“We need to provide low-cost, open, and scalable solutions that exploit widely accessible technology to promote entrepreneurship and sustainable business growth across all markets. Money Message aims to eliminate a number of cost, security, and technological barriers by allowing micro merchants and their customers to easily transact with one another on an existing platform, WhatsApp.”
According to Mike Smits, co-founder of Ukheshe, chat commerce is exploding all over the world. “We are thrilled to partner with Nedbank and take the lead in South Africa with its latest Money Message offering, and we look forward to assisting our customers in remaining competitive by leveraging market-leading transactional platforms.”
“Every business owner is searching for new and innovative ways to increase revenue and reach out to new customers across various channels. Smaller companies can achieve these goals and increase customer satisfaction with little or no investment beyond the phone they already have by allowing them to request digital payments through WhatsApp, according to Suzanne Morel, country manager of Mastercard South africa.
According to Nedbank, a beta version of Money Message has been available to a select group of micro merchants for just over a month and will eventually be rolled out to the rest of the market during the year.
“To make a safe payment, the customer simply enters their name, surname, and card information. Customers can now make safe, cardless payments using their cellphone numbers or QR codes, according to the bank.
“While other institutions have launched banking features through WhatsApp, Money Message is unique in that it was designed exclusively for merchants and small businesses to process payments. It is a revolutionary payment mechanism that addresses the special needs of South African entrepreneurs, rather than a banking plug-in.”
Merchants must first register for the service, which takes just a few minutes, and then they can automatically initiate a payment request, according to the company.
According to the bank, the business owner sends the customer a request-to-pay letter, and first-time users get an SMS notification asking them to register for the service.
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