Nigerian fintech startup NetPlus has worked in partnership with global payments giant Mastercard to develop a cashless e-commerce solution that provides the Nigerian market with a safe, transparent and efficient payment method that protects all stakeholders in an online transaction.
The e-commerce sector in Nigeria and most of Africa is held back by the fact that cash is still widely used, but this partnership aims to address that and make a cashless consumer culture more attainable in the region.
The enhanced solution that Mastercard is able to provide through NetPlus not only empowers the online consumer but also benefits the e-commerce retailer and delivery service as a simple and secure digital payment solution, according to ITNewsAfrica.
The digital payment solution allows consumers to pre-authorise payments when placing orders online, with the e-retailer confident that they will receive the payment, at which point they dispatch the goods via a delivery service that uses the Mastercard e-commerce app to authorize the release of the payment once the consumer has received the goods and approves.
The intuitive system, therefore, protects all of the stakeholders involved in the typical e-commerce transaction, while a consumer that is not satisfied with their goods can void the transaction and immediately release their funds.
The safer and simpler solution will allow the e-commerce sector in Africa to thrive, as those concerns currently hold the sector back.
The current reluctance to pay for items online is responsible for the high drop-out rate at the check-out stage, as well as many abandoned online shopping trolleys, revealing the need for secure and trustworthy digital payment methods and cashless e-commerce solutions such as this one, according to Telecompaper.
The African e-commerce sector is predicted to generate annual sales of $75 billion by 2025, and is already a $1 billion industry in Nigeria alone, according to AfricanBusinessMagazine.
While there are around 100 million mobile subscribers in Nigeria, the penetration of electronic payment methods is only at about 2 or 3 percent, Pymnts reports.
This provides a huge growth opportunity in the market, with Mastercard and NetPlus ready with the solution that will digitize the e-commerce sector, reveals Omokehinde Adebanjo, vice president and area business head for West Africa at Mastercard.
“Cash has held the sector back from reaching its full potential in Africa,” says Adebanjo, according to Mastercard.
“We have invested a great deal of energy and resources to develop a workable solution that will meet the diverse needs of merchants and consumers across the continent, and world. It is fitting that our partnership with NetPlus, an African-born tech company, has resulted in us achieving our goal of digitizing the e-commerce sector,” he added.
