Even though local retailers braced themselves for Black Friday, the onslaught on systems still resulted in all the major payment mechanisms buckling under the pressure.
Instant EFT payment provider i-Pay remained available and stable while handling the resulting additional transactional volumes without any impact on its service levels.
“Even before many stores officially opened on Friday morning, every major payment provider went offline due to massive e-commerce volumes,” says Thomas Pays, CEO of i-Pay. “We managed to take on the additional strain from retailers – with ease.”
Pays says it is testament to the importance of alternative payment solutions when a start-up like i-Pay outperforms incumbents on such an important retail day.
“From payment service providers to e-commerce sites, our small fintech showed the market that we are a force to be reckoned with and that digital payment is the way of the future. Were it not for us, local retailers would have had to turn customers away, significantly impacting on sales targets and potentially seeing them migrate to competitors.
“Not only does it mean retailers can continue driving sales, but because i-Pay does not require customers to have credit cards, to register on the system or download any software, we contribute to broader economic inclusion in the country,” says Pays.
This enables customers who do not have credit cards, and would otherwise have not been able to take advantage of Black Friday deals online, to participate in the digital economy.
“For i-Pay, it is about enabling economic growth, making the digital world accessible to those who could not benefit from it before, and giving merchants a secure, real-time environment to boost growth.” says Pays.