Standard Bank’s latest iteration of its SimplyBlu platform gives small and medium enterprise (SME) owners a real-time, remote snapshot into more areas of their business.
So said Norman Nyawo, head of merchant solutions for business and commercial banking at Standard Bank SA, in an interview with ITWeb.
SimplyBlu allows merchants to manage their business, load stock and inventory, and accept card payments, with an e-commerce component of the SME solution imminent, according to Nyawo.
It runs on the point-of-sale (POS) device, as well as a merchant app available from the Play Store. The iOS merchant app is expected to be available in the next week or so, he added.
“SimplyBlu comes preloaded with stock and inventory, acceptance of payment on a POS device and QR payments like Snapscan. We call it an omni-channel solution because in the next couple of weeks, you’ll also be able to publish an e-commerce or DIY store based on the available stock and inventory.
“For example, a small business can load their stock and inventory on the solution by downloading the SimplyBlu application on their Android device and set up their business on the app or the POS device.
“As stock is loaded or changes are made, those get updated in real-time to the POS device and mobile app. In a merchant context, the business owner is able to manage their store remotely by loading stock or goods while at another location and have it delivered to the brick-and-mortar store.
“The merchant app is a powerful tool…it gives you power to manage your business remotely. It gives the store owner power to not be in the store to view sales, manage stock and keep abreast of business.”
He noted the solution also allows the SME owner to pull profitability reports, low-stock level notifications and real-time business insights.
Nyawo said there are two options: rent the POS device, or buy it cash for R1 999. The rental for the device is R350 per month, with commission rates (the fee per transaction) that the merchant will have to pay.
The associated fee, he pointed out, covers the cost of processing transactions with Visa or Mastercard. “We have to pay interchange to the issuer, which is the cost of using a card payment. We collect this on behalf of the issuers and we also pay our margin on top.”
SME lifelines
According to McKinsey, SMEs are the lifeblood of SA’s economy, making up over 98% of businesses across the country and contributing 39% of the gross domestic product.
Small, micro and medium enterprises have been touted as engines of economic participation and job opportunities in SA. The National Development Plan envisages that 90% of the 11 million jobs will be generated by small enterprises in 2030.
However, these small businesses face numerous challenges, including the high cost of tools of the trade, financial backing and solutions that specifically meet the business needs.
Nyawo said there are other pain points, such as the cost of setting up a company and the barriers to entry for small business owners.
Standard Bank introduced SimplyBlu in 2019, with the aim to eliminate some of these barriers. It described it as a digital solution to ease the process of setting up and managing an online store, as well as securely accepting card payments.
Nyawo said the old SimplyBlu was, in essence, an e-commerce DIY store. At the time, the idea was that it was supposed to be a solution to enable small businesses to quickly set up their stores online.
“What we’re seeing in payments is this concept of omni-channel, with businesses looking for a solution to run their brick-and-mortar store and have access to their stock and inventory.
“With SimplyBlu 2.0, we’ve brought the two worlds together, bringing visibility and ease of managing the business across e-commerce, brick-and-mortar and on-the-go on your smartphone.”
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