Customers need multiple bank options to choose from when making payments…

Slow, delayed or worse, failed inter-bank transactions among traditional banks in Nigeria are commonplace. 

Although the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) was set up in 1993 to eradicate payment delays and ensure simple, flexible, and straightforward transactions from one bank to another, poor digital infrastructure continues to affect the process significantly.

Frequently, bank users are victims of network-error responses from banks while carrying out transfer activities, which ultimately alter the reliability and speed of inter-bank fund transfers. Such scenarios have made bank users more comfortable with intra-bank transfers, preferring only to use their bank of choice for transactions.

Today, many merchants offer virtual accounts for their customers to make payments for goods and services. But the unavailability of an option to choose a preferred bank remains a critical challenge.

The single bank option challenge for virtual accounts

A virtual account is a unique bank account number generated online by business owners to collect and reconcile customer payments. And though it is also considered a reliable way to simplify payments for customers, there have been concerns and frustration among many customers that such accounts are only linked to a single traditional bank. 

Customer frustration about the unavailability of other bank options is not unexpected, as it limits their options and increases the risk of delayed or failed transfers.

• A Usage Scenario:

Awase is a mother of two who needs to shop for new groceries for her family. She walks into her favourite store with no cash or bank card and after picking up her items, she is presented with an account number to make the payment through a bank transfer.

She tries to make the payment from her bank to the single bank option provided by the store but keeps receiving transaction error messages as a result of a poor bank network. After getting frustrated with several failed attempts, she is left with no choice but to leave the store without the items.

How is Bani solving this problem?

Having presented merchants with exceptional opportunities to maximise their business potential with our unique virtual account solution for payment collection, we have identified the challenge with a single bank option and provided an easy solution.

Merchants can now benefit from our unique ‘Multiple Bank Option’ solutions, allowing customers to choose from various tier 1 banks in Nigeria while making payments.

• Benefits of multiple bank options

For merchants, this will significantly reduce delays in settlement time and encourage your customers to do more business with you.

As a customer, you will now be able to eliminate chances of delayed or failed transactions when paying for your favourite goods or services. You will save unnecessary waiting time, which can translate to more productive activities.

• What this means for a customer like Awase:

Unwilling to return home empty-handed, Awase walks into another store that uses Bani’s virtual accounts to collect payments from their customers. At the point of payment, she is provided with multiple bank options to choose from for her transfer. She chooses her preferred bank and successfully makes her payment in no time.

Happy and satisfied with the seamless payment process, she pledges to always visit the second store every time she needs to buy new groceries.

Bonus perks of our virtual account product for merchants

There are other advantages for merchants using our virtual accounts to collect payments, such as:

• Create & manage multiple store locations

If you have got more than one branch for your business, you can easily create and manage virtual accounts for each branch. You can track and reconcile all payments collected across multiple stores. All in one place!

• Receive instant payment notification

You can’t be physically present at all your store locations. But you can now easily control which member of any of your store locations gets instant payment alert notifications, thereby saving confirmation time.

Customer satisfaction is pivotal to the growth of your business, and taking advantage of our multiple bank options will position you as a business owner with your customers’ convenience at heart.

What are you waiting for? Get on the Bani virtual account train today!