In recent weeks, we Told you about InterSwitch East Africa. The firm was formed after Nigerian payments company Interswitch Transnational Holdings acquired a majority stake in Paynet Group. In this post, we told you of what InterSwitch plans for the East African market from a Business to Business angle as well as a Business to Consumer perspective. We went on to tell you of various solutions offered by InterSwitch and how they empower small businesses.
Considering these huge plans, and the possible returns from using Interswitch solutions, how do these solutions align to business goals? How do Interswitch solutions leverage present technology into business solutions?
Local Payments
In an interview with CNBC following the entry of Interswitch into the Kenyan market, Interswitch CEO Mitchell Elegbe said Interswitch sees itself as an enabler of local payments. With cash still King in Kenya and the African continent at large, Interswitch seeks to tap into this segment and offer users solutions tailor-made for African business. In addition, the acquisition of Paynet Group by Interswitch and subsequent re-branding to Interswitch East Africa allows for switching of local transactions through PesaPoint Interconnect, account holders in PesaPoint partner bank accounts make transactions at reduced and uniform fees irrespective of which bank they conduct the transactions.
Cloud Ready Platforms
Cloud is a rapidly growing in Africa and particularly in Kenya. As SMEs scale, they require platforms that will allow them leverage technology solutions to both power their businesses, cut costs and increase their output. The solutions offered by Interswitch are cloud ready allowing businesses to better manage payments. Key among these solutions include WebPay payment gateway that integrates with merchant websites to allow for online payments; Pay Direct service allows both business and government to collect revenues as well as AutoPay, a disbursement tool would allow merchants to disburse payments to creditors as well as allow for salary payments.
Proven Technologies
Solutions offered by Interswitch boasts of a huge number of users, which instills confidence in a user. PesaPoint is a widely used transaction switching solution in East Africa by financial institutions from Saccos to Banks. Verve Card, a a prepaid debit card allows users to make payments on POS terminals, internet payments as well as cash withdrawals. The card boasts of over 20 Million Verve cards users in Nigeria besides being used by major banks in West Africa. Pay Direct solution is used by the Federal Inland Revenue Service to collect taxes. In addition, Interswitch implements 2-factor authentication to ensure security in payments.
