Konga.com, Nigeria’s online shopping centre, has come up with a payment solution which it presents to its customers and potential users as a means of facilitating online transactions. KongaPay is intended to serve as a straightforward, less cumbersome way to pay for goods ordered from Konga’s online mall.
Konga’s Chief Executive Officer, Shola Adekoya, says it’s all about convenience. Using convoluted systems to obtain goods ordered online has been the norm, and these complicated systems have resulted in various problems for businesses and customers alike. With the new payment system, customers are able to take charge of their transactions with Konga for whatever goods they want to purchase, and do so in a simple and stress-free way. The focus on the customers, according to Mr Adekoya, is the whole idea behind e-commerce, which this initiative seeks to promote.
The use of KongaPay begins with these three steps: The customer selects their bank; fills in personal and bank information; and then enters a code sent to their phone, which Konga uses to verify the customer’s bank information. Transactions made using this platform spontaneously generate a code directly from one’s bank, and refunds to the customer’s bank account take place automatically when an order is cancelled. The confidentiality of transactions is also ensured, as they are made secure by encryption.
KongaPay also helps local entrepreneurs to reach both local and international markets. This is because the user is also able to create and share a QR (Quick Response) code to social networks. This link makes payments possible on Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp and similar social media platforms. This should inevitably lead to the opening up of new opportunities for entrepreneurs to exploit the online social space in a whole new way, and expand their possible sales scope.
Konga apparently seeks to position itself as a leading e-commerce solutions provider by leveraging on the personalization of transactions and filling up the gaps, left by innovative yet imperfect payment systems in Nigeria’s burgeoning online market scene.