AtaraPay Uses Escrow To Enable E-commerce

Online commerce and payments have grown significantly in Africa. Some of the popular E-commerce marketplaces namely: Jumia, Konga, Wakanow, Takealot, and Kilimall, have grown significantly over the years and gained reputation in the industry.

According to streettolz, more than 32.88 per cent of the Nigerian population have access to the internet. Mobile phone usage increased to 87 million subscribers, representing an attractive market for mobile commerce. Societe Generale, recently valued Nigeria’s e-commerce market at $13 billion, as a result of the 25 per cent growth in e-commerce.

Various platforms have helped enable the e-commerce marketplace and equip African merchants with a unique way to reach their target audience and convert them into active customers. These platforms include: Shopify, Magento, Woocommerce, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

The huge acceptance of mobile phones and mobile payment platforms, and the rapid increase in social media usage for e-commerce, has made digital commerce an essential form of interaction between buyers and sellers in Africa.

However, Safety and Buyer’s Trust are recurring challenges which have stifled the ability to scale e-commerce in Africa, with these platforms that enjoy a safety net in most other markets outside Africa.

The marketplace platforms in Africa, enables sellers and service providers to promote their products and services at their own risk. Activities such as: order fulfilment, delivery of service or items purchased, and payment collection are solely the responsibility of the online buyers and sellers who are strangers, in most cases.

The likelihood of a successful or fair transaction is low and dependent on blind faith, that, the transaction is genuine and each party would hold up their end of the bargain. The lack of trust and fear of the unknown, led to the birth of Escrow services.

Escrow services

Escrow allows money to be held in trust, by a third party, on behalf of the buyer and seller, in a transaction. The advantage is that, payment is only released, when both parties are satisfied with the transaction. Enter AtaraPay.

AtaraPay is a leading online escrow service, with a patented technology in Nigeria. We protect the interest of both Buyers and Sellers with real-time, accept or reject options, at the point of delivery:

Buyer is able to inspect and confirm the order delivered, is in working condition, before the seller receives payment.
Seller is able to set delivery terms, preventing financial loss if the buyer cancels outside the set terms.

AtaraPay, offers 2 major services: Person to Person (P2P) and eCommerce Escrow Service. We optimize eCommerce websites by providing, simple connectors (plugins), to popular frameworks, which allow multi and single-seller sites to function easily.

AtaraPay gives sellers payment guarantee an incentive essential to online sales. As a result, merchants can focus on improving sales, maximizing growth opportunities and providing excellent customer service.

The following are benefits AtaraPay offers to e-commerce merchants:

Trust

AtaraPay has gone the extra mile to ensure that all funds paid into an escrow wallet are insured by NAICOM-licensed insurance companies, (powered by CBN licensed banks), to hold money and serve as the middle man for various transactions. This fosters trust between parties involved in e-commerce transactions, knowing their funds are secured.

Fraud Prevention

AtaraPay represents the buyer’s and seller’s trust in e-commerce and guarantees their transactions, this prevents transactional fraud. By standing as the middleman between both parties, AtaraPay ensures, customers and Merchants are accountable to one another, significantly lowering the risk of being defrauded.

Customer Loyalty

AtaraPay provides increased loyalty in e-commerce transactions. Buyers and Sellers repeat business as a result of increased trust and payment and delivery guarantees.

A vast number of marketplaces in Nigeria, have transferred the responsibility of order fulfilment to third parties such as merchants or delivery companies. Having an escrow service in place gives customers the confidence the transaction is secured, and merchants the assurance they are dealing with genuine buyers. The marketplace operators are also assured of quality delivery by their partners. This trustworthy environment increases and promotes customer loyalty.

Transparency

AtaraPay provides a very transparent medium for handling transactions. It gives buyers and sellers the ability to control their transactions. The terms of the transaction are clear and accepted by both parties before payment is made.

AtaraPay ensures, through automation, that both parties each adhere to their end of the bargain. In the event of a dispute, AtaraPay’s dispute managers would follow a concise dispute resolution process, to bring about an agreeable solution for both parties.

For merchants, AtaraPay eliminates the risk of unserious buyers and loss to cash on delivery (COD) pranks. The buyer must fund the transaction and follow the terms before the order is fulfilled.

Payment Options

AtaraPay supports multiple payment options adding convenience to all transactions. Our options include: online bank transfers, debit/credit card and USSD payment methods, which can be used to pay into escrow for the smallest transactions as well as big-ticket transactions. We also provide ease of payment by accepting all currencies.

Broad Customer Base

AtaraPay offers various means by which transactions can take place both online and offline between a broad customer base, across industries. Customers order a birthday cake online, engage freelance workers, rent or purchase motor vehicles and property.