South African online classifieds service Gumtree has added a pay button to some of its sections to allow customers to use the site as they would a traditional e-commerce platform.
The new feature will appear on ads in the phones, computers, sports and leisure sections, and allow buyers to pay for items without having to carry cash or meet the seller in person.
Gumtree has been in partnership with escrow service Shepherd since July last year, in an effort to make online peer-to-peer trading safer. Standard Bank-powered Shepherd holds money from the buyer, picks up the item from the seller, delivers it to the buyer and only releases money to the seller when they buyer is happy with the item on delivery.
The new pay button will allow this process to happen seamlessly. However, it does require both the buyer and seller to have signed up with Shepherd for the option to appear.
"Gumtree is an online store that stocks everything, but there has always been an offline element to it, namely the delivery and payment of the goods you buy," says Johan Nel, director-GM of Gumtree SA.
"While some individuals prefer to handle the transaction and delivery themselves (as buyer and seller), others want the e-commerce experience of online payment and door-to-door delivery. Now, we can cater to both preferences."
Nel says the new button minimises risk for both parties.
"Simply click on the 'pay with Shepherd' button when it appears on an ad. You will be redirected to the paywithshepherd.com site, where the ad details will appear in full. The money will be held in a secure trust account. Once the buyer receives the item via our courier, they can accept or reject it. The funds are only released to the seller when accepted."
The seller will be notified via SMS and e-mail of the funds that were reserved. Sellers can verify the legitimacy of the SMS on the Shepherd Web site or by calling (021) 886-7055 if they need added assurance.
To use the feature, an account with Shepherd needs to be set up and then Gumtree users should look out for the 'pay with Shepherd' button.
It is not yet clear when the button will be rolled out across other sections on the site.
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