Why online merchants must accept card and cash payments

We sat down with Simon Chandramani, Head of Sales, Payment Processing, and Robert McCann, Sales Manager at paysafecard, to discover more about Paysafe’s new product Paysafecash, and how merchants can benefit from integrating Paysafecash with Paysafe’s payment processing functions.

What is Paysafecash?

RM: Paysafecash is a new product recently launched by the paysafecard team which enhances the capability for consumers to pay for goods or services online with cash.

The process is easy. After selecting an item in an online store the customer enters the checkout page. Here, he opts to purchase the product via Paysafecash and is presented a barcode. This barcode can then be downloaded to our Paysafecash mobile app, another wallet app on a smartphone, or can be printed out. The consumer then takes that barcode to a Paysafecash payment point, the nearest of which is indicated online once the purchase has been made or can be found via the payment point locator in our app. At the payment point, the barcode is scanned and the cash is paid to the cashier. The merchant is then immediately informed and instructed to process the sale.

Is accepting cash payments relevant for eMerchants in 2018?

SC: Offering the capability to pay for online goods or services is extremely important to a large percentage of consumers. Research has revealed that 9% of eCommerce payments in Europe are currently settled in cash, proving that the appetite for paying in cash does already exist. And in many European countries, this percentage is much higher, meaning that for online merchants targeting consumers in these regions with a comprehensive yet simple method for accepting cash payments is of paramount importance.

RM: In addition to the consumers that are already paying with cash online, there are other identifiable groups of consumers who would spend money online on certain goods or services but are currently unable to do so. The most obvious of these groups is the unbanked; consumers whose entire financial world revolves around cash.

Research indicates that there is approximately 40 million unbanked adults in the EU alone and in total 130 million Europeans are financially underserved. For online merchants, especially those offering goods or services aimed at consumers who have a higher propensity to be unbanked or in markets where the percentage of the unbanked is higher, accepting cash payments online would significantly broaden their potential customer base.

This is also true in countries where the percentage of the population that is unbanked is lower as, due to the increased prevalence of the gig economy, today there are many consumers who are banked in the traditional sense, but who are paid in cash and therefore choose to conduct the majority, if not all, of their spending in cash. Successfully targeting these consumers will result in potentially significant revenue gains also.

Are there particular merchants who you envisage would do particularly well from offering cash payments?

RM: Any merchant selling physical merchandise or offering a service that doesn’t require instantaneous delivery upon purchase e.g. a streaming service, should consider accepting Paysafecash. However, there are a number of specific retail verticals where Paysafecash would be particularly applicable.

For example, making a payment via Paysafecash will be of interest to consumers who do not have debit or credit cards, or are wary to use them online due to security concerns, and wish to take advantage of online deals. In particular we see huge potential in fashion, travel, consumer electronics, and (pre- and post-paid) utility payments.

The service would also be ideal for paying for a gift chosen by the recipient i.e. the recipient could select a product and send the barcode to the donor, who would then settle the transaction at the payment point in cash.

Is Paysafecash a viable alternative for paying online for consumers who have concerns about online fraud?

RM: Consumers are increasingly wary of online fraud, especially as the awareness of illegal activity surrounding online transactions has escalated in recent years. Of course, the best card payment processors are successfully combatting this illegal activity, however for some consumers, the level of caution they hold concerning online banking and payments is such that they avoid making any online payments completely. Alternative payment methods are the only way for merchants to sell to this group; offering the ability to pay in cash is a real differentiator for online merchants as far as these customers are concerned, as it provides total control to the consumer without disclosing any sensitive financial information.

For merchants, should there be a concern that offering Paysafecash will only serve to cannibalise their card processing payments, rather than attractive additional sales from new customers?

SC: There will be consumers who wish to pay online using cash sporadically in conjunction with making card payments, but in the main Paysafecash is a product that will prove attractive to consumers who cannot, or do not, make purchases online for the reasons mentioned above. Merchants should therefore not be concerned that offering Paysafecash would cannibalise the volume of their of card payments; the two methods of payments operate in harmony to create a more complete checkout offering to suit the preferences of a wider range of consumers.

Merchants that solely accept card payments are only turning their backs on the online shoppers who currently pay via cash (on delivery), the potential growth of which is significant once a convenient cash payment alternative such as Paysafecash is in the market.

Do you foresee there being a delay in adoption as consumers struggle to understand how Paysafecash works?

RM:  Paying via Paysafecash is a straightforward process. Of course, consumers first need to know the individual steps, but once you have purchased a product with Paysafecash, you know how it works: Select Paysafecash as your payment method, receive the barcode, present it to a payment point and pay.

In addition, there are already similar payment mechanisms present in specific sectors and geographies, so for many consumers generating a barcode and delivering it to a dedicated location in order to make a payment will not be an alien process.  

To help consumers understand how simple Paysafecash is to use we have created a short video. 

For merchants, is there a benefit to partnering with Paysafe for both payment processing and to offer Paysafecash?

SC: In addition to the level of experience and expertise Paysafe can offer to merchants, there is a benefit to merchants of having a complete payments solution from a single supplier, especially in regard to reporting and back office efficiencies. Paysafecash and Paysafe Payment Processing are working together to offer that single solution from one provider that encompasses card and cash payments; one that will scale and futureproof a merchant’s business.

We also caught up with paysafecard CEO Udo Muller at Money20/20 Europe, here is what he had to say about Paysafecash.

 To find out more about Paysafecash, visit our website.