Nigeria’s ecommerce giant Konga.com has this week officially unveiled its highly anticipated payment solution called KongaPay. The move is being likened to the creation of PayPal to deal with trust and uncertainty for US auction site eBay, and looks set to shake up online shopping in Nigeria by providing convenience and security for buyers and sellers alike.
Currently, the dominant model for online shopping in the country is cash (or mobile payment) on delivery, but KongaPay is being pitched as a payment solution that allows users to perform one-click payments on the Konga marketplace. Every time a customer triggers a transaction, the bank sends a secure authorization code to the customer’s registered mobile number. Anyone with a bank account and a registered mobile phone number can use KongaPay.
This means there is no need to sign up for internet banking.
This product was unveiled at a KongaPay Demo event held in Lagos. After live demonstrations of the easy and secure use of KongaPay on the center-stage, industry executives gathered around various shopping stations where they too signed up and used KongaPay to for their purchases.
KongaPay is now available on a “limited first-look release basis” with national launch scheduled for the third quarter of the year. But the payment solution has been integrated with Access Bank, Diamond Bank, Ecobank, FCMB, First Bank, GTB, Heritage Bank, UBA and Zenith Bank.
It said it plans to completely integrate most Nigerian banks in order to achieve widespread access to KongaPay.
Sim Shagaya, Chief Executive Officer of Konga.com said: “KongaPay is a partnership with Nigeria’s banks. We strongly believe that together, we could change the face of online shopping in Nigeria by removing the uncertainties customers associate with pre-paying for goods and services they are yet to receive.”
He added that payments made with KongaPay are held in escrow until the transaction is satisfactorily completed.
“With KongaPay, shoppers on Konga’s marketplace can rest assured knowing that their transactions are fully protected. They are in full control of their money, and will get instant refunds for cancelled or returned orders with just an easy click. The use of KongaPay eliminates the need to enter sensitive personal information such as card details or internet banking passwords,” he said.
To register for KongaPay while shopping on Konga, all the shopper has to do is select his or her bank, enter a name, account number and date of birth and then finish registration by using the code sent via SMS to the individual’s registered mobile number. Every time the user wants to shop, all the user has to do is enter the secure authorization code sent by the bank to complete transactions.
