Equity Bank Rwanda on Friday, March 18, unveiled its first online payment gateway, as the lender strives to remain the customers’ bank of choice.
Powered by VISA, the dynamic platform will allow merchants and businesses located in several parts of the world to transact, exchange payment links and invoices among other transactions.
It comes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced the behavior change of customers who are increasingly adopting digital payments in the wake of the government’s call to embrace the cashless economy.
The platform is targeting all businesses from the hospitality sector to the telecommunication companies among other service providers.
According to Jean-Jacques Kajuga, the Head of Payment and Digital Channels in Equity Bank, this payment gateway will allow merchants to safely accept online payments across multiple sales channels, worldwide from over 190 countries across the globe.
"It is secure, convenient and gives the merchant an opportunity to have a 360-degree view settled in their account so that they can get regular reports that alert them for every transaction,” he noted during the launch of the digital solution on Friday at Kigali Marriott Hotel.
He added the platform can accept the credit and debit cards, while mobile money wallets are soon to be integrated so as to create a more user-friendly platform for customers.
For better security, the platform will also have 3DS, which is a digital tool that allows the authentication and validation of the transaction before it is finally processed.
Other tools include the payment tokenization which provides space for users with recurring payments to use it and the Direct API integration which is a solution that protects customer details from potential workers.
The country manager of Visa, Salma Ingabire said they are proud to partner with Equity Bank and rooted for the modern digital solutions to ensure the market enjoys benefits that will transform their e-commerce experience.
"As online shopping becomes the norm for consumers and businesses continue on the road to economic recovery, digital payment and in particular frictionless e-commerce experiences, will become a competitive advantage for businesses,” she highlighted.
Digital payments among other experiences provide a convenient and secure way to pay for customers. They reduce the friction arising from handling money, limit customer queuing and grow their customer base as a result of enhanced experience and eventually improve sales and profitability.
John Mukono, the head of e-Commerce in Equity Bank said that they chose to pilot this payment gateway in Rwanda due to its growing fintech and start-up market, the MICE sector, air transport and the level of service digitalization.
Rwanda’s Gross Payment Ecosystem (GPE) currently stands at $65 billion, he said, adding that from the heart of Africa (Rwanda), the lender is able to expand to other parts of Africa.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, Yves Iradukunda lauded Equity Bank’s digital solution, and said that the platform is among the kind of technology that Rwanda is pushing for.
"Technology is a broad and vast concept, but seeing these kinds of platforms that boost the operations of SMEs being deployed in different sectors of the economy, is what we are looking for,” he expressed.
He therefore rallied more financial institutions to adopt more digital solutions and support the ambitious target of cashless economy in Rwanda.
"If small and medium enterprises are not provided with these solutions, they won’t expand and yet they are the main engine of our business sector and the economy at large,” added Iradukunda.
Equity bank is a well reputable financial institution, with a solid base of 50 million customers in six African countries offering business-tailored services.
The financial institution was recently hailed by The Africa Banker 2021 as the leading Bank in Rwanda for the second time in a row, an award that recognizes institutions that have risen to the challenge and supported businesses to cushion effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and came out stronger and more resilient.
Adalbert Rutaisire, the Director of Operations at Equity Bank delivers remarks during the launch of the bank's first online payment gateway in Kigali on March 18, 2022.
Delegates follow the bank's presentation on how the new platform will allow merchants and businesses located in several parts of the world to transact, exchange payment links and invoices on March 18, 2022.
Jean-Jacques Kajuga, the Head of Payment and Digital Channels in Equity Bank speaks about the new platform will allow merchants and businesses located in several parts of the world to transact, exchange payment links and invoices.
Visa Country Manager Salma Ingabire (Left) shares moment with Adalbert Rutaisire, the Director of Operations at Equity Bank during the official launch on Friday, March 18.
Visa Country Manager Salma Ingabire addresses the event, expressing how they are proud to partner with Equity Bank.