MyGate has seen great growth after one month of launching its online debit card product. This product now allows online merchants to accept payments from FNB debit card accounts.
MyGate has branded the product as "Mobile Commerce" but merchants do not require any changes to their Web site nor do they require any mobile technology. The mobile component of the transaction comes into place when the FNB debit card account-holder wants to authorise the payment, which is done via his mobile.
FNB account-holders access the service by choosing the Cell Pay Point option on the merchant's Web site. Once the card-holder has chosen this, MyGate will prompt the card holder with a *120*277 number to dial into their cellphone.
Once dialled, FNB then sends the user a message via USSD to confirm the transaction, which the user does by replying with their PIN. The user can then decide from which account to pay from and then they'll receive a confirmation message that the transaction has been successful. MyGate simultaneously notifies the merchant that the transaction was successful so that the product or service is released.
Merchants have realised the benefits of expanding their target markets as previously they were limited to accepting only credit cards as a means of real-time payment. This, combined with the ability to have zero fraud or chargebacks by using the service, has increased motivation to integrate with MyGate.
To use this product, a merchant is not required to bank with FNB and can sign a merchant agreement directly with MyGate, enabling them to have one point of contact for their merchant processing. This also speeds up the application time and allows for earlier live trading enablement.
MyGate estimates that by using this product, e-commerce companies selling to South Africans will increase their sales by 7.5% within the first six months. Merchants trading in the travel, airline, gaming and prepaid markets are expected to have an even higher sales growth rate.
Dan Edmiston, MyGate MD, says: "As a payment processor we are continually looking at new payment mechanisms that will assist our clients to grow their businesses. At present, our debit card product only allows for FNB Mobile Banking users to buy from our merchants. Another major bank has engaged in discussions with us to provide a similar service to its debit card base and we hope to bring this to market shortly."
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