In a bid to reinforce the cash-less policy in Nigeria, MasterCard has introduced recently another Internet payment solution in Nigeria, which is specifically targeted at the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Known as the MasterCard Internet Gateway Service (MiGS), it provides a comprehensive Internet payments solution, which banks can offer to their merchant customers who seek to accept payments on their websites from cardholders of all major card schemes wherever they are.
The newest addition, “SME Online”, is a suite of value-added services that works seamlessly with MiGS and extends the benefits of online card acceptance to a broader merchant segment. The features include invoice payments, batch payments, reoccurring scheduled payments, virtual terminal and web shop. It’s a simple to implement, easy to use web-based payment solution that banks can offer to their SME merchants.
A key benefit for merchants is that the system can be self-managed. It is designed to enable SME merchants to establish an Internet presence for their businesses, including website design and processing of batch and individual card payments.
SME Online allows merchants to build their own web shops, including shopping carts and online product catalogues .It also provides a custom branded e-commerce solution to manage and authorise online payment transactions in over 145 currencies. Once merchants create their own web shop, they can start accepting online shoppers on a simple platform that embeds lots of functionalities, and they can add new functionalities at any time.
According to Country Manager, MasterCard West Africa, Omokehinde Ojomuyide, “With the likes of Jumia.com, Nigeria’s No.1 Online Retailer, and wakanow.com, Nigeria’s No.1 Online Travel Website, already signed on to MIGS payment gateway solution, shoppers in Nigeria are already enjoying the benefits of convenient and seamless 24×7 online shopping. SME Online will extend these benefits to thousands of smaller merchants and open the world of online shopping to millions of Nigerians.”
The firm stated that Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank currently offer the MIGS services to their merchant customers.
