The Group Managing Director (GMD) of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, believes forging growth in mobile payment solutions requires inclusiveness.
Biola and her friend went out for a weekend girl outing a couple of weeks ago. They decided to make a stop at a popular shopping mall before heading to their favourite restaurant. At one of the clothing stores at the mall, Biola fell in love with a little black dress. She decided to pay with her card. To her amazement, the transaction did not scale through. She opened her wallet as she brings out another card. That also had an issue, she tried the third and was about to bring out the fourth card when she was intercepted by her friend, “how many ATM cards do you have?”
“I have four,” replied Biola. “You can’t trust these ATMs at times so I decided to carry as many cards as possible.
Biola’s experience may become a thing of the past with the PayWithCapture banking solution newly introduced by Access Bank. The solution, a product of an evaluation of the future of banking and mobile payment solutions in Nigeria by Access bank, shows that consumers want value and convenience.
Speaking on the introduction of PayWithCapture, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, says he believes forging growth in mobile payment solutions requires inclusiveness.
“For the potential of mobile payment technologies to truly explode,” he explains, “it is important that we begin to see it as more than a bank initiative but more of a consumer initiative and that is where inclusiveness comes in. We are committed to providing solutions that meet people in their niche and we have been working closely with technology partners to achieve this. Nigeria is an exceptional country with unique consumer needs. To accelerate financial inclusion in Nigeria, we had to bring out a solution that allows for a combination of payment solutions. This allows us meet every consumer in their niche.”
Adeleke Adekoya, head, Digital Banking, Access Bank, says PayWithCapture is a mobile payment solution that permits customers to make payments by scanning a generated QR-Code using the camera of their mobile device, using Quick Pay by capturing the Merchant ID or Beacons NFC in the merchant’s store which automatically prompts you to pay.
According to him, the application also works offline this means that data service is not required on the phone for payment. The transaction details are sent in little packets of data which have customer information encrypted for security. This process reduces, or rather, totally obliterates issues of network downtime and inability to process payments.
He explains that Access Bank is particular about offering an inclusive different institutions and payment instruments that works with secured SMS as an alternative to the internet. He says PayWithCapture can be linked with different cards (MasterCard/VISA, Bank Account & Mobile Wallet) and affords customers the opportunity of selecting which payment instrument they choose to use.
“It also works with proprietary beacon technology and Near Field Communication technology. This allows you to pay without contact once you’re in an area (merchant location) that supports PayWithCapture. This is a massive step forward in ambient context identification, as beacons allow for background positioning and detection, giving new power to a phone that can make it truly ‘smart’.
“In addition to this, PayWithCapture is PCIDSS certified which means that the platform meets international payment standard requirement. This certifies PayWithCapture as secure and consumer’s sensitive payment card information is safe. Furthermore, a two-step authentication process is required to sign into the application and perform transactions.”
Adekoya further explains that the mobile payment world is on a journey of inclusiveness and Access Bank has taken the biggest leap in that direction with this inclusive payment solution.
“It is an issue of inclusion and fidelity. We realized that the average Nigerian is multi-banked, and with PayWithCapture, you can pay with any bank’s card. You register all your Cards on your PayWithCapture profile and they will be selectively or collectively debited based on your preference,” he adds.
The versatility of PayWithCapture is not limited to the Nigerian market as consumers in other countries like Ghana and Kenya can enjoy the benefits offered by PayWithCapture. What’s more is that the application is tailored to adapt to consumer’s need per country and more countries would be included. The PayWithCapture commitment to keep evolving to stay relevant in the payment space and changing technological landscape would be visible in future versions of the application.
“We have also made payments easy with wearables. Use force-touch on your Apple watch to pay and choose your preferred linked payment method. We believe the next Black Friday sales can happen on pages of newspapers or on TV screens,” notes Adekoya.
Moreover, there are rewards for signing on to PayWithCapture according to Adekoya who stressed that everybody deserves the convenience that PayWithCapture provides. With this in mind comes the launch of the #PayWithCapture Refer and Win Contest where consumers have the chance to win N5000 every day. “Next, convince your family, friends and followers to download the app and make a transaction. They could buy airtime at a 5% discount. The top 10 people with the highest number of referrals per day win N5000 instantly.”
How to download PayWithCapture: Search for PayWithCapture on your Google Play Store or Apple store. Click on download and follow the process by imputing your details.