Co-operative Bank launches 'pay by link' solution for small businesses

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Co-operative Bank has enhanced its contactless payment solutions to enable businesses receive payments without necessarily setting up a website.

This enhanced E-commerce solution is dubbed ‘Pay-By-Link’ solution.

 Co-op Bank already has several contactless solutions among them E-Commerce solution which enables businesses to receive card payment through their websites and POS Solution where merchants do not handle cash.

Instead, customers pay for their goods and services via card at a Co-op Bank Point of Sale terminal.

The other is M-PESA Paybill 400200 and M-PESA Paybill 400222. The latter allows reconciling of payments done via M-PESA into the individual’s Co-op Bank.

“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 (ladies), or merchants that receive bulk payments,” the bank explains.

However, the bank is cognizant of the rise of online merchants who conduct their payment via social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other online market places like Jiji.co.ke, it was realised that some of these merchants might be missing out from customers who prefer to pay via card.

“Some of these merchants do not have a physical location where the customer can visit and pay via a POS terminal, moreover, some customers prefer the goods to be delivered to them at home and have the option of paying via card,” a statement from the bank explains.

It adds: “For this reason, the bank has enhanced its E-commerce solution, making it possible for business owners to receive payment via card without necessarily investing on a website or an app.”

This is how it works: once the customer and the merchant agree on the pricing, the merchant sends the payment link to the customer's email address.

The customer will then open the link which will reveal a portal where they will insert their card details and the amount they are to pay.

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

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

Some of its advantages include no incurring of costs by the merchant, it is secure with two-factor authentication for all card payments, and even if a customer makes wrong payments, the merchant can reverse without involving the bank.