Ecobank Masterpass QR records high patronage

The Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Tony Okpanachi has expressed delight over the level of acceptability and wide patronage of Ecobank MasterPass QR, an innovative global digital payment solution recently introduced into the nation’s financial landscape by the Bank.

It would be recalled that Ecobank was the first financial institution in the country to introduce Masterpass QR.

According to  Okpanachi who responded to media questions in Lagos, latest checks have revealed that thousands of wholesalers and retailers in the country have adopted the payment technology as their preferred means of receiving payments for goods and services, describing the payment system as a tool for financial inclusion and economic development.

In his words, “We are quite impressed with the level of acceptance and enthusiasm so far shown by all segments of the society. The patronage has been phenomenal. Supper shops, fuel dispensing stations, hotels, food vendors, intra-city transporters, even the popular keke mawa are not left out in adopting Ecobank Masterpass QR for their transactions. This is certainly a big plus for the Nigerian economy.”

While encouraging merchants and business owners who are yet to enlist in the digital payment system, Okpanachi submitted that “business owners can increase revenue through the acceptance of mobile and digital payments, while reducing their exposure to the risks and costs of managing cash.

Payment is instantaneous and guaranteed, meaning that merchants no longer need to wait days for transactions to reflect in their accounts.”

Head SME, Commercial Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Sunkanmi Olowo, said Ecobank Masterpass QR serves the rapidly expanding needs of individuals and merchants in Nigeria and across Africa who are increasingly turning to mobile for payments.

This will bring many millions quickly into an organised financial system. “It is well known fact that about 96 per cent of Nigerian businesses are MSMEs. Despite the major part they play in the nation’s economy, about 98 per cent of them still do their transactions using cash.

With this payment system, this business segment will be able to contribute their quota to the nation’s economy. This technology allows them to seamlessly leapfrog into the digital age,” he noted.

Ecobank Masterpass QR, makes electronic payments safe, simple and smart. It improves customer experience with a clean front-end design and a built-in sophisticated and secure supporting technology. Users of Ecobank’s mobile banking platform will be able to safely pay for online and in-store purchases by scanning a Quick Response (QR) code displayed at checkout on their smartphones, or by entering a merchant identifier into their feature phones. Shoppers don’t need to carry cash or their physical bank cards – rather they can make fast, safe and simple digital payments using Ecobank Masterpass QR via their mobile banking app on their mobile device anywhere that Masterpass QR is accepted.

The introduction of the Ecobank Masterpass QR, which is the first in Nigeria signals one of the largest implementations of a digital payment solution in Africa, resulting in millions of previously excluded people joining the financial ecosystem.