South African payments and data API startup, Stitch, has announced the launch of direct deposit or manual transfer as a payment method, allowing its customers in South Africa to offer their clientele more ways to pay through a single API.
According to a press statement, Stitch’s direct deposit service will allow businesses to skip past the need to develop and maintain direct integrations with individual banks, receive notifications for payments made via manual EFT, reconcile payments seamlessly alongside other Stitch methods, and enjoy faster settlement times.
Commenting on the product launch, Stitch CPO, Junaid Dadan, said: “We want to give consumers more choice in how they wish to pay, while ensuring a fantastic experience for them, and taking the headache out of payments acceptance and reconciliation for the merchant. With Direct Deposit, customers can choose to initiate a transfer from their banking apps to a merchant account. The merchant will be notified instantly, and the transactions will be automatically reconciled alongside other payments coming through Stitch – no need for businesses to develop and maintain integrations with each bank individually.”
Some use cases of Stitch’s new payment method include:
- Ecommerce: Fulfill orders faster and more seamlessly when accepting manual transfers.
- Investment solutions: Automatically trigger account crediting or investment when a customer’s payment clears via manual EFT.
- Digital wallets or accounts: Receive instant notifications when a customer funds their wallet from outside the app.
- Lenders and insurers: Reconcile premiums and repayments from different payment methods.
Stitch emerged from stealth in February 2021, launching first in Cape Town and Johannesburg before expanding to Nigeria in October 2021. The startup raised $21 million in Series A funding in February 2022.
