Mastercard has released a sleuth of payment solutions that it expects will enable small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria to enhance the service experiences of their customers.
The SME-in-a-Box solution is powered by Mastercard’s payment technologies and that of its fintech partners, including onboarding technology provider Signzy and Mastercard’s network of tap on phone partners. Innovectives, a Nigerian fintech will be the primary provider of the solution for SMEs in Nigeria.
According to a statement BusinessDay received, the solution is expected to help small and micro-merchants across the country in expanding their customer base using digital platforms and enable sustainable revenue growth. Business owners will have access to a wide range of financial services quickly and easily through a single intuitive app compatible with all Android mobile devices.
The app’s functionality supports contactless payments, Quick Response (QR) code payments, and can generate e-payment links for remote payments.
“The SME market represents 90 percent of businesses in Nigeria, and has been deeply impacted by the pandemic,” Gaurang Shah, Senior Vice President, Product Management, Digital Payments & Labs, Middle East, and Africa, Mastercard, said. “We recognise the overwhelming pressure that small business owners are currently facing and are committed to supporting them through COVID-19 and beyond by bringing our tools at a low cost and rapid time to market. The SME-in-a-Box offering provides SME owners with a quick and simple way to digitise their business and build a platform for sustained future growth.”
The solution which comes with a low-cost acceptance service runs on smartphones and delivers speed and simplicity with remote digital onboarding services from Mastercard’s StartPath partners. In addition, through its Simplify Commerce offering, Mastercard plans to enable SMEs with a plug-and-play e-commerce store builder with instant online checkout. SMEs can access a virtual card and get access to business tools through Mastercard’s partner ZOHO as well as get access to educational tools.
“Merchants across emerging markets are the backbone of these economies and are eager to do more. However, many of them are limited in accessing supportive financing and business support,” said Olubusola Osilaja, Group Executive Director, Platforms and Partnership – Innovectives, “In combination with the impact created due to the pandemic, the need to support SMEs is more stringent than ever before. We are leveraging our strength in banking, payment, and lending technologies, along with a deep understanding of retail merchant networks to deliver SME-in-a-Box.”
Mastercard has made a global commitment to bring 1 billion people into the digital economy by 2025. This includes 50 million small businesses and 25 million women entrepreneurs. As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mastercard has pledged $250 million in financial, technology, product, and insights support over the next five years to small businesses across the globe, supporting the financial security and vitality of businesses and their workers.
