FINANCE CHOOSING A PAYMENT GATEWAY FOR YOUR BUSINESS by Sancia Campbell
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s the e-commerce industry continues to fuel the explosive growth of businesses across many other industries, Jamaican entrepreneurs, particularly small business owners, are in a race to capitalise on the income prospects from across the country, region and the world. However, unlike their larger and in some cases international counterparts, local small business operators face significant challenges when it comes to digital transformation and taking advantage of the technology available to foster growth and development. The current trend sees smaller companies engaged in limited e-commerce including social media selling and commerce using mobile technology. However, a formal e-commerce platform has proven advantages that positions businesses to get the most out of the many features and possibilities which encourage customer purchases, builds relationships between the business and consumer and provides a platform for the business to showcase itself. Chief Executive Officer at Mobile Edge Solutions, Leighton Campbell says that while it is important for commercebased businesses to have their own online marketplace, it is recommended that they enrol on existing marketplace platforms so that they can quickly reap the benefits of such spaces. “For smaller businesses, the simplest and easiest way to get started is to enrol in an existing marketplace. That way, they can quickly benefit from the existing traffic on these sites,”
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he stated. He suggests that online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and Cool Market are great options particularly because they have existing audiences from across the world.
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interface’s popularity, the possibility also exists that customers would already be use to technology, plus PayPal is integratable with a number of shopping cart systems. It is also instructive to know that customers do not require a PayPal account to transact business with the small business and the fees are less than many other merchant accounts.
till, MSME challenges persist. During the hosting of the JBDC Virtual Biz Zone in which the topic of e-commerce was discussed on several occasions. The most recurrent complaint was the difficulties faced with identifying and On the other hand, PayPal has a limited using the right payment gateways in a term of use which if any business goes bid to collect sales receipts on time. against can result in account suspension and frozen funds for unspecified Continuing, Mr. Campbell confirmed periods. that this is indeed a hurdle that many entrepreneurs face daily. He Of course there are other web-based recommends however that emphasis payment systems such as Venmo, Apple should be placed on choosing payment Pay and Stripe. Use of these interfaces partners who provide transparency requires additional research to indicate over transactions. “No sale is complete whether they effectively serve the local until the money is collected, so the marketplace. payment partner is crucial to the inally, the National Commercial e-commerce process. You want to work Bank’s e-commerce service which is with financial entities that are not only transparent but those who also provide powered by Fygaro uses the payment confirmation of payment in real time gateway provided through First and offer quick pay-outs.” He further Atlantic Commerce. This payment shares that these features are available gateway supports multi-currency credit from popular local e-commerce card transactions. It is a fast and secure partners including NCB, CIBC, Sagicor, platform that enables merchants to process multi-currency credit card First Global Bank and Scotiabank. transactions on their website using As transactions can come from anywhere KeyCard, MasterCard, Visa and NCB in the world, it is also important that Quisk. businesses develop relationships with international gateway partners. NCB further supports particularly small According to Mr. Campbell, the most and medium-sized enterprises with common in Jamaica is PayPal. The use of Payment Buttons which may be shared this solution however comes with pros on social media networks and Website Templates which allow merchants to and cons. create their webstore by selecting a ayPal boasts on its safety and ease theme from a gallery or requesting a of set up and usability. Based on the custom-built template.
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BUSINESS IN THE NEW NORMAL
JANUARY – MARCH 2021
