Cape Town, South Africa, 06 Jul 2021
The owners of restaurants, cafés, coffee shops and small businesses across the country are still reeling following the recent announcement that South Africa would adjust its lockdown regulations with a very heavy impact on these businesses.
In a bold move to help them survive the adjusted level four restrictions, digital marketplace and payments provider UBU International is dedicating the month of July to help secure the future of the food and drink outlets by zero-rating its fees across the board and by providing the functionality to easily offer touchless mobile payments and both ‘order and collect’ and ‘order and deliver’ services to its customers.
With restaurants now only able to offer takeaways, cost reduction is crucial. UBU’s zero-rated fees include the costs for marketing businesses registered on the platform, as well as the transactional fees of up to 4% that businesses are forced to pay to accept contactless payments or credit and debit cards.
"The effects of the new regulations are devastating," said UBU Managing Director Tony Mallam.
"We launched our platform right as South Africa entered the start of the pandemic and we've been part of this journey ever since".
Mallam explained that UBU offers business owners the opportunity to be part of an online marketplace designed to drive customers to their doors. The hope is that this move will also encourage other corporates and start-ups to play their part in ensuring that owners of small businesses aren't forced to shut their doors.
He expanded further: "Many consumers don't realise that the costs for processing transactions are a huge burden for business owners who are desperate for sales during the pandemic. Removing this cost burden for these businesses will be a sure-fire way to make a substantial impact on their bottom line.
"Other marketplaces can charge between 15% and 30% in some cases just to expose businesses to their customers. The most we charge under normal circumstances is 7%, and today we're making that 0%."
UBU International also offers a built-in loyalty programme, and those food and drink outlets listed in the UBU marketplace can give customers a cash-back reward for their purchases to encourage them to continue supporting them. For the month of July, this will be the only cost incurred and ensures their customers will return again and again!
The UBU platform also features ‘order and collect’ and ‘order and deliver’ functionality – cutting out the need to pay exorbitant fees to third-party delivery services, and increasing customers arriving to collect their takeaways or goods purchased. The entire process is seamless and contactless, including the payment facilities that are completed using UBU’s mobile wallet.
If you’re an owner of a restaurant, café, coffee shop or any food and drink outlet trying to keep your doors open, take advantage of this limited time offer and visit https://joinubu.com/zero today to learn more and get your business listed.
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