E-commerce in Africa: How Will Your Next Million Customers Like To Pay?

The rapid increase in the use of digital devices is changing the way people interact with the world and in effect, the customer payment experience. Payment with checks or wire transfer is fast becoming an obsolete concept. Right now, you find customers asking for POS machines, payment by transfer, but also debit, mobile money payment options, and e-wallet transfers.

In the last couple of years, they have been a rise in the buzzwords used around the digital business and tech ecosystem. But, one of them that has become the most important for e-commerce businesses, in particular, is customer experience (CX). Unlike user experience (UX), Customer experience is a concept describing the overall experience a user has with a brand, without the time or channel limitation. Imagine an umbrella concept that encompasses all channels, platforms, products, and interactions that the customer has with a brand over time.

Today, Global businesses like Amazon, Spotify, and ASOS, understand the importance of catering to customers’ needs and payments, fitting seamlessly around their daily lives, habits, and cultures — no matter where they are in the world. And it is well worth the effort to get it right. For today, powered by the internet, businesses now have the opportunity to reach billions of new customers around the world. It’s then crucial for businesses to invest in innovations in payment technology.

There are four essential factors to consider as a business when thinking about how your customers would like to pay. They are:

CHOICES:

The best thing you could do to your business is to make the payment process smooth and seamless for your customers; many times this involves, giving them lots of payment options. You want people to be as comfortable as they can be when it’s time to pay. Mobile payment is the present and not the future. In truth, giving your customers a variety of payment options to choose their preference is essential, because in reality there’s no one-size-fits-all option, your business should provide as many safe options as possible.

TRANSPARENCY:

Whatever the future of payment, the transparency factor is key to the experience. Transparency, as to do a lot with the presence (or absence) of hidden fees or extra costs and the operative word when it is considered, is fees. It is important that things like set up fees, transaction fees, net banking transaction fees, different transaction fees on separate cards, annual maintenance fees, etc. are not hidden from the customer. The entire gambit of fees can be burdening for a customer. The future of payment would be a gateway, which has no hidden charges.

CURRENCIES:

The world has indeed become a small place, and the consumer is everywhere and anywhere. It is, therefore, necessary in today’s marketplace that a payment gateway has provisions for payments in multiple currencies and a plethora of alternative payment methods to enhance the customer experience. Does your brand/business cater to customers globally? Does your payment method currently support multi-currencies transactions? Your customers would want payment a method their local currencies, so it becomes crucial your payment gateway integrates with multiple payment gateways offering your subscribers a chance to pay from their local currencies. You can then have a truly global platform where you can charge a visitor based on their location either in USD or Euro or GBP with variable pricing for each currency.

PERSONALIZED AND CUSTOMIZED SERVICE:

Research shows that when customers can interact and personalize an app, they tend to use it more often. So it’s wise to project that people would choose to pay with a method that has attached a certain level of emotional or sentiment ownership. It could just be an app or modal where your customers can choose to personalize their payment portal by uploading photos themselves, pets, vehicles or customized push notifications to alert them about bill payment.

SAFETY AND SECURITY:

When it comes to money and payment, it’s essential to make your customers feel safe and secure. As more people turn to online shopping and e-commerce, you must offer them an experience that balances with what they are familiar with. For instance, no one walks into a banking hall thinking the money they’re about to deposit isn’t going to make it to its destination. When deciding on a payment gateway or method for your customers, make sure your platform provides robust security features and has a PCI-DSS certification such as anti-fraud protection.

With Korapay’s advanced technology and data insights, you can circumvent traditional systems and drive optimization every step of the way. For a secure and reliable payment gateway for your business, contact support@korapay.com