As one of the growth area globally, digital payment has become an attraction for players which hitherto have been operating in slightly different landscapes. Hence, Konga, an African e-commerce giant, has followed another new entrant, Opay, in extending the digital payment options available to Nigerians, with the roll out of KongaPay.
KongaPay is a cardless and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) payment platform that serves as alternative to other mobile and web-based services. Users can withdraw money from the ATM without using cards, while those who do not have access to internet connection, especially in distant towns, can take advantage of the USSD code *574# to carryout their transactions.
Speaking about the peculiarity of the cardless digital payment platform, Vice President of KongaPay, Joshua Fatoye, said “Users who do not have access to smart devices or live in areas where there is no data coverage can still carry out their financial services on the go by dialling the KongaPay USSD code, which is *574#.”
Interested users, however, must register at http://kongapay.com and ensure their wallet is funded before making transactions.
Meanwhile, the mobile numbers of both sender and receiver of money are necessary to facilitate completion of each transaction process. According to Fatoye, “The beauty of the process is that the mobile number does not have to be registered on KongaPay wallet.”
The global payment market is expected to hit $132.5 billion by 2025. This makes it a growth area for tech-based firms and operators of brick and mortar financial services.
Opay, a Chinese-backed venture , was the last to tap its expansive client base on its sister ride-hailing platform, Oride, to provide digital payment services in Nigeria. KongaPay as well will be relying on its brand equity in the e-commerce and logistic market to beat existing competition in the new terrain.
The firms strategy is a justification of global marketing shift towards creating new categories from existing portfolios to survive being boxed by overwhelming competition within any ecosystem.
