By Daniels Ekugo
The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan, has launched EcobankPay zone at Alaba International Market, Lagos, and expressed the bank’s commitment to continue innovating more payment and financial solutions to best serve traders across the country.
According to Akinwuntan, the bank has designated Alaba market as an EcobankPay zone, meaning that patrons of the market, Ecobank and non-Ecobank account holders, have more easy, secure and convenient ways to pay when they visit the market. He added that EcobankPay’s unique offering is that anyone from any bank in Nigeria can pay with MasterPass, mVISA and mCASH with any phone by scanning QR code or using USSD.
Traders, he said, can now enjoy more possibilities to grow their business as they can also sell to customers with EcobankPay in 32 countries in Africa. He added that “EcobankPay is free to set up as the shop owner only needs his/her QR code and phone for notifications to start receiving quick and easy payments.
EcobankPay, a special merchant QR Code product of the Pan African Bank, enables customers make seamless payment for goods and services across the three major payment platforms without the use of plastic cards. The uniqueness of the digital product according to the bank is that it has MasterPass, MVisa and Mcash embedded in the merchant identity QR Code. If the person that wishes to buy goods is coming from a bank that has MVisa and wishes to pay, the same QR Code would accept MVisa payment and vice versa. That creates interoperability and convenience for the merchants. The QR Code is much cheaper than having a point of sale (PoS).
For the merchants the beauty of the EcobankPay is in the cost of setting up, as the shop owner simply prints the QR Code on a paper and can stick it anywhere and do not run any risks. It is convenient and the mobile app is ubiquitous, it allows you 24/7 access, it is affordable and for every Nigerian. As a merchant on EcobankPay, you automatically have a QR Code that accepts all the three payment platforms – MasterPass, MVisa and Mcash. Shoppers who used the EcobankPay QR Code are right now treated to special discount transactions at selected shops in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Aba.