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Start-up introduces online payment system for SMEs

Sibahle Malinga
By Sibahle Malinga, ITWeb senior news journalist.
Johannesburg, 17 Jan 2017
PaySafe addresses the pain points of traditional payment methods, says Peach Payments' Rahul Jain.
PaySafe addresses the pain points of traditional payment methods, says Peach Payments' Rahul Jain.

Fintech start-up Peach Payments has recently introduced Peach PaySafe, a secure payment option for SMEs to seamlessly collect invoice payments from their clients.

According to Peach Payments, the online platform allows merchants to generate a payment request by issuing an invoice through e-mail and SMS. The client is able to click and make the payment online with their card or bank account. It requires no integration with a Web site or application, adds the company.

Rahul Jain, co-founder of Peach Payments, says, "A high proportion of SMEs in SA and other emerging economies do not trade online. Their success depends on the personal contact and face time that they have with their customers. We saw the need to find an admin-easy, accurate and safe invoicing and online payment system for small businesses that do not process online payments, which is PaySafe."

Peach PaySafe is integrated with online accounting systems - Xero and Sage which allow the merchant to send an invoice through these systems, he adds. Once a customer completes a payment the accounting system is able to register the payment as "paid" and allocate the funds to the correct account code.

"PaySafe is totally secure - the processing platform is certified according to the highest industry standards (PCI Level 1) and various fraud detection algorithms are enabled including 3DSecure authentication which requires a user to enter a one-time pin or secure password to approve every single card transaction.

"Peach PaySafe users range from freelancers, professionals, high-end tour operators, SMEs providing business services and even local taxi and helicopter operators. We are now adding more features like integrating PaySafe with accounting platforms like Xero and also allowing merchants to set an expiry time for requests. Our clients will further benefit not only from improved cash-flows but also reduced administration time and costs," explains Jain.

Peach Payments is a gold member of AlphaCode, a Rand Merchant Investments (RMI) club for fintech start-up entrepreneurs. RMI's senior investment executive and head of AlphaCode, Dominique Collett, says: "Peach Payments is serving a huge emerging industry by optimising payment channels that allow customers to securely and seamlessly pay for goods and services."

Despite there being many players in the payments space, Jain points out the dire need for advanced payment platforms in developing countries presented his company with a tremendous opportunity.

"Our solutions, including our core transaction processing and now PaySafe, address the pain points of traditional payment methods. They are geared to the realities of the African market. All our products are built for mobile interfaces to address the African customers who primarily access the Internet on their mobile devices," concludes Jain.

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