Businesses using Nedbank Point of Sale (POS) devices or e-Store solutions are now able to offer their customers responsible and affordable financing to meet their unexpected expenses.
The new purpose-based offering is the result of a collaboration between Nedbank and SwitchPay, a leading fintech company that provides innovative solutions in financial technology. “As a bank, we are committed to using technology as an enabler to enhance customer experiences and this first-to-market partnership with SwitchPay is another milestone in our journey to be first in digital,” says Mpho Sadiki, Executive: Card and Payments Acceptance at Nedbank.
The innovative Nedbank POS finance application solution enables merchants to facilitate finance applications in-store, on behalf of their customers, through a number of registered finance providers and return the best available solution. This means merchants have an additional payment option to offer their customers, irrespective of where those customers bank, effectively maximising the potential for successful sales while improving the clients' in-store experience.
The offering, which is initiated from the existing Nedbank POS infrastructure, has been designed to deliver benefits for both merchants and their customers. Once the finance application is in progress, the lender is able to verify and contact the customer directly on their cellphone, which allows positive linking of the cellphone number with the ID number, providing an additional security layer.
"As the lenders, Nedbank, or one of the other registered financing providers included on the lending network, accepts all the credit risk, and is fully responsible for authenticating the customer and completing all credit checks," Sadiki explains. "All the merchant needs to do is complete three fields on their POS device; the lender firstly processes the application, then contacts the customer directly for any additional information, and, once approved, will pay the approved finance amount directly to the merchant to fund the purchase."
Finance applications of R1 000 to R250 000 can be made and applicants receive a decision on their application in minutes, while they are still in the store. And because the SwitchPay system submits finance applications to all the participating registered lenders, customers have the best chance of a successful outcome at a competitive interest rate, with the option of repayment terms of six to 72 months.
In addition to the in-store financing application facility, the Nedbank POS solution will soon also include a lay-by option. This is also processed quickly and easily through the POS device, and Nedbank oversees all the customer payments, keeping merchants informed of progress so that they can manage their stock as their lay-by customers approach their final payments. The lay-by payment method also offers additional security to the customer should a merchant’s business close while lay-by payments are in progress. In this case, the buyer’s funds are safe and payments already made are paid back to the customer.
“At SwitchPay, we strive to link people with technology and we are proud to partner with Nedbank on this solution, which enables a smoother customer journey for both consumer and merchant partners from an in-store to online experience, and we passionately believe the Nedbank SwitchPay offering is the future of alternative payment switching,” says Andre Fourie, CEO and Co-Founder at SwitchPay.
“The Nedbank purpose-based in-store financing solution is another way the bank is supporting the growth aspirations of businesses by delivering convenient digital solutions, that provide instant value to merchants and their customers. “We believe this solution could add considerable value to many businesses, as it effectively enables them to overcome one of the main hurdles to successful sales closure, namely a lack of payment options for unexpected needs of their potential customers,” concludes Sadiki.
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