Co-operative Bank launches an online payment solution to cater for small businesses

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With the outbreak of Covid-19 globally, consumers are now opting for contactless payment. Consequently, this has seen the rise of e-commerce.

Co-operative Bank has several contactless solutions that it offers to its customers who run businesses. These are as follows:

1. E-commerce solution: This enables businesses to receive card payment through their websites or app

2. POS solution: Merchants don’t need to handle cash, the customers can pay for their goods and services via card at a Co-op Bank POS terminal.

3. M-Pesa Paybill 400200: Customers can pay directly into the merchants’ Co-op Bank account via M-Pesa paybill number 400200

4. M-Pesa Paybill 400222: With our paybill, 400222 reconciling of payments done via M-Pesa into your Co-op Bank account is easy! The statements include the customer name, student number or house number and their phone number making payment reconciliation easy. This solution is ideal for schools, landlords/landladies, or merchants that receive bulk payments.

However, the bank is cognisant of the rise of online merchants who conduct their payment via social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and online market places. Some of these merchants might be missing out on customers who prefer to pay via card. Other merchants do not have a physical location where the customer can visit and pay via a POS terminal. Moreover, some customers prefer to have the goods delivered to them and still have the option of paying via card.

For this reason, the bank has enhanced its e-commerce solutions, making it possible for business owners to receive payment via card without necessarily investing in a website or an app. This works as follows:

1. Once the customer and the merchant agrees on the pricing, the merchant sends the payment link to the customers’ email address.

2. The customer will receive the link via email, open it and it opens up a portal where they will insert their card details and the amount they are to pay.

3. Once the payment goes through, the merchant will receive a payment confirmation via email and SMS.

4. The customer will also receive a notification via SMS in the event they have subscribed to SMS alerts with their card provider.

This enhanced Ecommerce solution is dubbed ‘Pay-By-Link’ Solution.

Advantages of the Pay-By-Link Solution:

 1. The merchant does not incur any cost to get the Pay-By-Link solution. It is FREE to get onboarded.

2. The solution is 3D secure, with two-factor authentication for all card payments.

3. In the event a customer makes a wrong payment, the merchant can reverse the payment without calling the bank for a reversal.

4. The customer cannot reverse a payment, therefore reduces the risks to merchants, to lose money from dubious characters

5. Payment reconciliation is easy for the merchant since they can track payment and view payment from a single dashboard.

 To get the Pay-By-Link solution, please email us on [email protected]

 For more information visit https://campaign.co-opbank.co.ke/ecommerce/