Payment gateways play a significant role in the eCommerce industry in Pakistan. Businesses often face the problem of finding the best payment gateway for their stores when they have to sell their products or services online.

We are here to help you shortlist a potential payment partner by giving you a list of the best payment gateway in Pakistan.

Payment Gateways

Before we list the payment gateways, it is necessary to know what an online payment gateway is and how it works. Simply put, a payment gateway is a system through which payments (usually online) are managed and their details transferred to the concerned banks.

Usually, when you buy things online, you give in your credit or debit card details on a special payment portal that opens after you opt to pay. This secured portal is the front face of the payment gateway. A payment gateway works as a liaison between a buyer, seller, and the seller’s bank.

As technology has expanded, so have security concerns about financial data security. With online commerce growing in popularity, no one wants to have their financial data at risk. This has increased the focus on having an effective payment processing system that secures both the buyer and seller from financial crime.

The primary purpose of payment gateways is to ensure security and facilitate smooth and low cost digital transactions. With the growth of eCommerce, the demand for accessible, safe, and secure transaction processing is a growing focal point for Pakistani consumers and entrepreneurs. E-commerce stores, online retailers, online booking, and reservations providers for travel sites are all examples of businesses that need to accept online payments from their clients.

Payment Gateways managed by Banks in Pakistan

Since payment gateways are the digital versions of banking services, several banks provide online payment processing services. Since payment gateways can be taken as the digitization of a bank’s key business, it makes sense for banks to specialize in this segment.

At present, three banks are offering online payment gateway services. These are HBL, MCB and UBL.

Sadia Zaheer

Sadia Zaheer holds a Masters in Business Administration from IBA, Karachi. After working in several financial institutions in Client Management, Corporate Lending, Islamic Banking and Product Management she jumped careers to pursue a career in writing.
She is a Finance, Business and HR Development writer with four years of experience. She reads a lot and takes care of her multiple cats to remain calm.

The post The best payment gateways for e-commerce businesses in Pakistan appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Easypaisa Car Insurance can be availed by paying a premium price of 2.5% of the car’s market value per annum.

Unlike conventional car insurance policies, customers can subscribe to Easypaisa Car Insurance and avail ‘third party insurance’ and ‘terrorism cover’, or going as far as to cover the ‘car mechanical insurance’ that has never been offered in Pakistan before.

Easypaisa Car Insurance covers everything that competitive insurance plans cover, and adds even more! Easypaisa Car Insurance covers engine breakdown, drive axle, transmission, suspension, steering, cooling system, electronic systems and more.

Furthermore, the client is not required to submit any lengthy documentation; they can simply call the Easypaisa helpline at 3737 and an authorized surveyor will guide them through the process.

Such universal availability with an easy process makes this car insurance plan accessible to an unparalleled number of people.

The process for Easypaisa Account subscribers is even easier as they can sign up for Easypaisa Car Insurance through an SMS command. Soon, customers will be able sign up for Easypaisa Car Insurance by visiting Easypaisa shops, Telenor Sales & Service Centre and Telenor Franchises across Pakistan.

Ali Riaz Chaudhry, President and CEO of Tameer Bank said,

“With Pakistan’s fiercely growing automobile industry, subscribing to a reliable car insurance policy has become a prerequisite for every car owner. Digitally empowered, Easypaisa Car Insurance is here to address all the needs of our customers.”

Muhammad Yahya Khan, Head of Easypaisa said,

“Our valued customers are the source of our motivation to offer convenient and affordable car insurance with features that are completely unprecedented in the Pakistani market. From signing up to making claims, all has been made possible from your mobile phone, without the need of conventional laborious paperwork.Now every car holder can rely on an affordable and yet comprehensive insurance plan for their car.”

Mian Shahid, Chairman United International Group said,

“We admire how Easypaisa digitized insurance’s overall claims process. With Easypaisa’s visionary leadership, we hope and wish to work on delivering first-rate insurance products throughout the country.”

Easypaisa’s new Car Insurance plans offers cheaper pricing, better coverage, and is available to more people than ever before. With car insurance, Easypaisa continues to demonstrate the benefits of digital financial services for the common man.

Khurram Zahid

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In Pakistan, consumers have an overall lack of trust in online shopping mainly due the risk of fraud. To counter this lack of trust, e-commerce stores have introduced Cash on Delivery option so that the consumer only pays for the product at the time of receiving the product which is mainly due to the consumer’s fear of the product being not authentic or not perfect in condition and working. However CoD has its own risks as the customer is not handed the product for assessment until and unless the delivery personnel has being paid in cash.

Aimed at building trust and confidence, the consumer will be able to pay in advance for all their online purchases. Buyer protection withholds payment from the seller until and unless the customer has received the product and has checked it and intimated their satisfaction with it. In case the customer has any issue, for example the product not being the same as advertised or is damaged, they can raise a dispute with Easypay. After which the customer will be given the option to get a refund or a replacement of the said product.

How it works?
The buyer simply has to fill a dispute form (dispatched with the shipment) along with a detailed description of the issue being faced along with supporting evidence (photo/video) within 7 days of receiving the package. This initiates the first phase of dispute resolution whereby the merchant and customer are given an opportunity to resolve the issue amongst themselves within the next 7 days. If the dispute remains unresolved, the next phase of resolution is initiated wherein the Easypay dispute resolution committee shall assess the dispute details and supporting evidence and give a final decision in either party’s favor.

Shedding light on this major development, Yahya Khan, Chief Financial Services Officer, Telenor Pakistan said, “Through Easypay Buyer Protection, we have engineered a solution that would boost Pakistani buyers’ confidence in online shopping, giving them the right to spend their hard-earned money only when they are satisfied with their purchase. This is the very first time that a Buyer Protection service has been introduced for online shoppers where consumers will get their money back if they are dissatisfied with their purchase, and we are proud that Easypay has pioneered it.  We really hope that Easypay Buyer Protection helps overcome trust and results in the growth of the local e-commerce sector.”

Taking advantage of this new service offering, a number of online shopping sites have already signed up for Easypay Buyer Protection some of which are Homeshopping.pk, Well.pk & Techcity.pk. For more details about the terms and conditions of Easypay Buyer Protection, follow the link below:
https://www.easypaisa.com.pk/easypay-buyer-protection

Khurram Zahid

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To test the whole experience we visited Easypaisa stall at Dolmen City Mall on Saturday and was greeted by the team. They explained the function of the tag and how it will enable the payments. They also offered flyers that listed various details, including discounts that can be availed at several known brands and restaurants.

The process was very simple, you need the following to enable NFC payments:

1. Telenor Sim
2. Easypaisa account

Since we already had both, the staff brought out one of the NFC tags, used their phone to activate a certain app and brought it close to the tag to register it in the app. A unique number appeared on the app screen below which the staff member added our Telenor sim number.

The NFC tag, a sticker, was then pasted on the back our mobile phone. Since Easypaisa account was tagged with the Telenor sim, the NFC tag was also connected to the account via Telenor sim.

Other services offered at the stall:

• If you don’t have Telenor sim, you can buy one on the spot and it will be biometrically verified as well.
• If you have both Telenor sim and Easypaisa account but not the balance, the staff will transfer funds to your account in exchange for cash.
• We are not sure if they offered on-spot opening and activation of Easypaisa account, but we are assuming something must be in offer by them.

There is also one promotional offer that will last till day end today:

1. If you do shopping worth Rs. 1,000 using Easypaisa NFC, you will get 1 USB from the staff
2. If you do shopping worth Rs. 2,000 with Easypaisa NFC, you will get 1 Powerbank from the staff
3. If you do shopping worth Rs. 3,000 with Easypaisa NFC, you will get both items

Now that our tag was active, we decided to test it out. We went to Fatburger and bought a meal and Vanilla shake. The 25% discount was applied to our order due to NFC payment and the whole process went through smoothly.

• When the order was finalized, I offered to pay through Easypaisa NFC
• The discount was applied and NFC enabled POS machine was offered
• As soon as I brought my phone closer, the machine registered the tag and the staff entered the bill amount
• We received prompt on our Easypaisa account with bill amount and verification
• It required PIN number to complete the payment process
• A separate receipt was generated as payment confirmation and we also received an sms that would act as digital receipt as well

Easypaisa had partnered with Wemsol that provided the NFC enabled POS machines being used by the merchants.

Conclusion

Easypaisa NFC is a great initiative, bringing more variety in the digital payment eco-system that Easypaisa team has been trying hard for since past few years. The process of making payments is very effective and secure. The only downside is that you need Telenor sim with Easypaisa account and it cannot be used with the built-in NFC technology that some modern smartphones have. At the same time there is no Easypaisa app that could replicate the success that technologies like PayPal have done.

Still, the effectiveness of this process cannot be denied and it is good beginning for NFC-based payments in the payment industry of Pakistan.

If you have Telenor sim and already operate Easypaisa account, you should definitely get the NFC tag. If you don’t, it is about time you give it a try.

Khurram Zahid

The post Easypaisa Launches NFC Payments appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

What is EasyPay?

EasyPay is an end-to-end payment solution that provides a comprehensive platform for digital payments. It uses EasyPaisa account through Telenor sim for direct payments, completely free, and can also be used through 65,000 EasyPaisa agents across Pakistan. It is also integrated with MasterCard and VISA, allowing you to use your credit card to buy products and make payments.

How does it work?

EasyPay uses USSD technology for secure payments, just like EasyPaisa, and is a holistic payment ecosystem. To address online payments, EasyPay provides three options to customers:

1) EasyPaisa Account: If you have an EasyPaisa account, you can go to online store (with EasyPay option) and do your shopping. At the end of your shopping click the button “Checkout with EasyPay” and on the next screen select the option “Pay via EasyPaisa Mobile Account”. On the next screen enter your mobile number and email address (on which your EasyPaisa account is registered) and you will receive a notification on your mobile phone for online payment. Confirm the payment and enter your security pin, and  your transaction will be successful.

2) EasyPaisa Shop: Once you complete your online shopping, click “Checkout with EasyPay” and on the next screen select “Pay at EasyPay Shop”. On the next screen fill out your mobile number and email address, a token number will be generated against your order which you will receive on both email and mobile. Go to the nearest EasyPaisa shop and the agent will process the payment using that token number.

3) Credit Card: Once you complete your online shopping, click “Checkout with EasyPay” and on the next screen select “Pay via Visa/MasterCard”. On the next screen fill out the details of your credit card. As soon as the payment is verified, you will receive confirmation on your mobile phone.

The following video about Credit Card payment will shed more light on the payment process:

EasyPay video by f576890875

How will it benefit the end consumer?

EasyPay brings convenience of buying from your home, without worrying about payment hassles or Cash-on-Delivery challenges. It uses your mobile phone for payment confirmation, the credit card process is secure through Visa and MasterCard stringent security checks and it opens doors for further innovation in the mobile payments industry.

Most customers buying online rely on Cash-on-Delivery. The main advantage is convenience, checking of product before purchase and less chances of fraud (such as credit card). This method became the primary choice for customers because of lack of payment options and lack of trust on sellers (online merchants/websites) to use credit cards.

This trend has saw tremendous change with the emergence and growth of portals such as Homeshopping, Tohfay and Online Bazaar. Buyers are now even willing to use credit cards to buy products from these websites. This change can be further pushed into payment methods where Cash-on-Delivery can be slowly replaced with digital payments.

The overall EasyPay advantages are:

• Cash-on-Delivery, via courier services, is available in 250 cities. EasyPay is available in 850 cities
• Seller can pass on the Cash-on-Delivery expense as discount to the customer, lowering the price of the product
• 65,000 EasyPaisa agents across the country that can process EasyPay payments
• Can be used for retail payments
• Instant settlement in case of payment via EasyPaisa account
• Instant payment reversal for EasyPaisa account based on return policy
• Overnight settlement for EasyPaisa shop payment and 3 days settlement for credit card payment
• EasyPaisa already engaged in P2G and G2P payments, such as traffic fine payment in KPK, Zakat disbursement in Punjab and funds disbursement to female school students in Sindh. EasyPay can take it to next level such as micro treasury bills and e-prize bonds (currently under discussion with government)

Only online payments?

EasyPay is also into retail payments. The pilot testing is going on in Islamabad where various merchants have been provided with relevant training and material. Using an NFC tag (that will identify your EasyPaisa account) you can make payment at the merchant’s shop.

The following video demonstrates the process:

EasyPay use at retail using NFC Tag by f576890875

Benefits to the merchants/sellers?

• EasyPaisa actively promoting its partners
• No joining fee
• No hidden costs
• Simple website integration process to show EasyPay option
• About 15 days process to activate merchant account at Tameer Microfinance Bank and EasyPaisa merchant account
• 1%, 2% and 3% per transaction fee from EasyPaisa, EasyPaisa Shop and Credit Card payments respectively
• Merchant/retailer of any size can join, even a “Pan Shop”
• No minimum transaction volume
• Comprehensive reporting and analytic tools for merchants with store-wise breakdown and details high volume transactions
• Instant settlement, overnight settlement and 3 days settlement in case of payments via EasyPaisa account, EasyPaisa shop and credit card respectively. No longer locking of capital for 15 to 30 days under current settlement mechanisms with courier services
• Plugins/extensions for easy integration with WordPress, OpenCart and Magento
• Templates for web stores available for those with no web portal
• 750,000 transactions each day, 15 million every month
• 1 million EasyPaisa accounts being activated every month
• Based on number of accounts, EasyPaisa is the third largest bank of Pakistan
• Basic EasyPaisa account has 50,000 limit, Over-the-counter/EasyPaisa shop and Credit Card have no such limits (except those they inherently have, such as credit card limit cap by the bank)

Future Possibilities?

Digital payments can leap frog with a stable and mature payment ecosystem. Pakistan already is far ahead in mobile payments even from developed countries and it can further enhance economic growth. From domestic remittance, inter-bank funds transfer and mobile-to-mobile payments that are already in use, EasyPay can open doors to e-commerce boom, increase in the use of digital payments, reduce cash circulation in the economy (helping in controlling inflation), bring unused cash into digital payments, improve inventory turnover rate, reduce locking down of capital due to long settlement periods, reduce costs of products and services, trigger innovative online services for general as well as niche markets and make payments even more convenient as the ecosystem matures with time.

Khurram Zahid

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