After arming themselves with Level 1 PCI DSS certification (effectively becoming as secure as the most secure payment gateways in the world), Simplepay has built something called SimpleLink. Much like WorldPay’s Pay By Link, and PayPal’s payment links, SimpleLink is a payments solution that lets merchants receive payments using a unique link. But you already figured that out.
You’re probably only reading this because you want to know what I think about it, and whether you should check it out. The thing is, I haven’t seen it in real life yet, because it’s not actually been launched. All you can do at the moment is leave your email address and Simplepay will reach out to you when it’s ready. So, what I will do is tell you how it will work when it does launch on June 1.
First, you visit Simplelink.ng, and Sign Up. Next, you enter your product/service and generate a link which you can then send to your customers via SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, etc. When the customer clicks/taps on the link, a checkout page pops up that contains the selected items, as well as text fields for the customer to enter their card details, and delivery address.
They included a test link though, which sends 100 Naira to someone called Bimbo Clothing (what I’d give to have my account number at the receiving end of a payments platform test link). I entered the usual card details, after which I was asked to check my phone for an OTP (One-Time Password). After a couple of minutes, the OTP came in as an SMS and I received an Order Status Notification soon after via email, confirming the transaction.
Simplepay won’t charge you any setup fees, but will only collect a small percentage of each transaction. Think of it as the transport fare your money has to pay to get to its destination. Even though I’ve demoed it, I want to see it work in a real life situation before pronouncing it cool or otherwise. So, see you on June 1?
