Hot on the heels of the launch of its new sub-R5 a month transactional account called MyMo, Standard Bank has unveiled another new service, this time aimed at consumers wanting to take their wares or services online and be able to easily accept payments for them. Called SimplyBlu, the platform includes in-app payments, digital invoicing, and fraud monitoring. Standard Bank’s calling SimplyBlu an ‘ecommerce in a box’ solution. Except, you know, the box is virtual.
We’ve yet to see the service live, but Standard Bank’s promising “drag-and-drop” functionality and “built-in templates” for online store building, along with hosting and a web address. It also says the service will enable customers to pay digital invoices securely via their email. SimplyBlu integrates with the Mastercard Payment Gateway and users will be able to “accept domestic and international credit, debit and prepaid cards from Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover, JCB and Diners Club” with transactions being settled overnight into the user’s Standard Bank account. All card transactions via the platform are 3D Secure authenticated and PCI DSS compliant.
Up and selling
Business owners can apply online for the SimplyBlu service, and Standard Bank says assuming all of the required documentation is correctly submitted during the application process users can begin accepting payments within two working days. In order to apply, users need to submit copies of South African IDs and proof of home address for all of the business’s owners, proof of business address (yes, even if this is the same as the home address), proof of banking details, and where a company is a partnership, a copy of the partnership agreement, or a copy of the business’s registration documents where it’s a private company or close corporation.
There’s no information about pricing for SimplyBlu on Standard Bank’s website yet, but we’ll update this story accordingly once we know more. For now, if you’re interested in applying you can do so over here, and can read the full Ts&Cs (always read the full Ts&Cs) over here.
UPDATE: In a press release published on Tuesday afternoon, Standard Bank says SimplyBlu includes a “R500 once-off set up fee” and thereafter customers will pay a monthly subscription fee of R575 “as well as regular card transaction fees for merchants”. It also says it’ll offer shopping cart plugins “for all major shopping carts including Shopify and Magneto”.
