South African e-commerce merchants can now finance their businesses easily and shoppers can make purchases on credit just as easily.
This is the result of two collaborations entered into by PayU, SA’s largest online payment gateway. The collaborations, with leading merchant financing company, Lulalend, and consumer credit provider, Mobicred, are set to boost an eCommerce industry that is promising to grow exponentially.
Karen Nadasen, PayU South Africa CEO, says: “As the payment gateway that processes the highest value of ecommerce transactions online in South Africa, these innovative collaborations offer the opportunity to push the industry forward, allowing more people to transact online and further strengthens our expansion into the Fintech space. Both of which will benefit our existing merchants, as well as attract new ones.”
The collaboration between Mobicred and PayU enables PayU merchants to offer Mobicred as an additional payment method at checkout. Merchants will be able to offer their customers a credit as a method of payment in addition to the existing 25 payment methods available through PayU.
Mobicred Director, Geraldine Anderson explains, “We are excited about this because PayU is enabling us to expand our merchant network – creating more of a “virtual mall” where our thousands of account holders can transact. We currently have over 650 merchants offering Mobicred. Partnering with PayU allows us to grow, and offer some of the premium online shopping brands that we were missing.”
PayU’s collaboration with Lulalend will enable merchants to navigate the challenges of seasonality and cash flow by giving merchants access to cash funding within 24 hours. Lulalend assists SMEs – that may have struggled to get funding through traditional institutions – to access easy funding to help them grow their businesses.
Trevor Gosling, Lulalend CEO and Co-founder: “Our collaboration with PayU offers a channel into the e-commerce space where we are able to increase our footprint and allows us to expand our product base to offer merchants the various types of funding they need to make their businesses succeed.”
With e-commerce growing at a healthy rate in South Africa, Mobicred customers can benefit from a unique, virtual online payment facility that is safe and secure and also allows customers to pay in affordable monthly instalments to make budgeting for big ticket purchases simple.
The e-commerce space continues to evolve with an increasing number of merchants turning to online retail needing to manage supply and demand to meet customer needs. It has become increasingly vital for merchants to have access to funding that allows for quick inventory purchases.
“Working capital is an obstacle for e-commerce in South Africa. There are operational costs involved in any business, but for e-commerce in particular, there is a big need to continue to scale. The online world doesn’t wait for anyone – so fast, convenient access to funding is essential,” says Gosling.
At a time when South African consumers are feeling the pinch and economic growth prospects are muted, access to funds through credible companies can provide the lifeline that the e-commerce industry needs to not just survive, but to thrive. The collaborative efforts of PayU, Mobicred and Lulalend will create the necessary platform for this to become a reality.