Picture this: you're a customer who just remembered his wedding anniversary is in two days. At the 11th hour, you decide to do a quick gift shopping, knowing how vital this red letter day is to your partner. You place an order and when the transaction is eventually processed, it has affected the 24-hour delivery period you had left to meet up. However, a pay-with-transfer powered by Monnify would have saved the day in a split second. Here's why

As a business owner, developer or customer, you might wonder; why Monnify? Well, why not? In this article, we will show you how we have significantly improved the payment experience on the Monnify checkout to become the better way to collect payments in Nigeria.

Not many brands are deeply rooted in understanding what their customers need. However, at the heart of Monnify, we are highly committed to the challenges merchants and their customers face, like transaction speed. We began with a thorough transaction data analysis, which revealed some startling insights into payment processing times.

Our team conducted an in-depth study of transaction speeds, tracking each session's timestamp from initiation to completion. We found that transactions directed to certain banks, notably Moniepoint, were processed at a turbo-fast rate, sometimes as quickly as 3 seconds. This reality starkly contrasted with other Nigerian banks, where transactions could take a minute to several. 

Meanwhile, did you also know that Monnify first introduced the virtual account product in Nigeria in 2019? Well, that's for another time. 

How to determine the speed of a bank transfer

To know the time a bank transfer was initiated from the source bank to the receiver bank, analyze the typical 30-character string session ID. Here is how;

• Session ID: A typical bank session ID is a 30-digit number like this  000012250220130635005030000404 where 7th to the 18th digits (250220130635) represent YYMMDDHHMMSS. (year, month, date, hour, minute and second).

• Extraction: We pull out these 12 digits to form a date and time.

• Formatting: Convert the extracted digits into a readable date-time format (e.g., 2078-01-23 14:56:78).

• Time Difference: Calculate how many seconds have passed between this formatted date and the time we received the transaction from the bank.

Now that you have understood this breakdown, how does this benefit you as a business owner? It's simple! It shows how long it takes your payment to be processed, and this can help you make informed decisions on choosing the right payment processing partner. You will experience much faster payments using the Moniepoint virtual account powered by Monnify, which helps your business run much smoother.

Although this wasn't just about speed; it was about reliability and customer trust. By prioritizing Moniepoint Virtual accounts for bank transfer payments, we could significantly improve payment processing speed on Monnify’s checkout. The result has shown a 70% marked increase in customer conversion and satisfaction when using Moniepoint compared to other virtual account providers.

Unpacking even more challenges with the Pay with Transfer method

We took a deeper dive and identified other customers' pain points using the traditional pay-with-transfer method on the checkout. Below are the challenges faced;

• Overpayment Mishaps: Imagine a customer who, in a rush or due to a typo, transfers N50,000 for a product that costs only N5,000. Not only does this lead to agitation, but it also requires manual intervention to rectify, consuming valuable time and resources. 

• Underpayment Frustrations: On the other end of the spectrum, consider a customer who pays N4,800 instead of N4,850. This minor discrepancy can halt the transaction process if the merchant’s checkout is not configured to process variable thresholds.

• Manual and Automatic Refunds: We attempted to solve this problem in the past by automatically rejecting a mismatched amount. However, for some merchants, this default setting didn’t work for them because every transaction mattered. These merchants preferred to accept such transactions and handle the refunds manually. 

Introducing Monnify's Payment Threshold

To address these issues, we have engineered a simple solution, Monnify’s Payment Threshold, which fundamentally alters how transactions are processed for the better. This solution gives the merchants more power in their hands. 

But first, what is this "Payment Threshold" all about? It is the amount limit a merchant sets to curb issues of overpayment and underpayment on transactions they accept, as explained in the scenarios above. The benefits are;

• Business Control: For instance, if a business prefers not to accept payments more than 10% above or below the item price, it can configure this directly from their Monnify dashboard.

• Immediate Feedback: When a customer attempts a payment, our system instantly checks if it aligns with the merchant's set thresholds. If not, they're alerted on the checkout page with a message prompt: "Your payment of N50,000 exceeds the expected amount of N45,000; expect a refund payment."

• Automated Rejection: Should a payment fall outside the acceptable range, our system automatically rejects and refunds the transaction, depending on the set merchant's preference. This means no more manual refunds on such payments as the system does this automatically based on the threshold set.

It's worth highlighting that Monnify is the only payment gateway that gives businesses such flexibility to accept virtual account payments that are slightly below the price of the item or above to improve revenue.

The Impact 

• For Customers: The checkout process becomes quicker, more transparent, and error-proof. They know instantly if there's a discrepancy in payments, which builds trust and reduces frustration.

• For Merchants: This control minimizes the administrative load, reduces payment errors, and enhances customer service, allowing merchants to focus more on business growth than payment management.

•  For the Market: Monnify sets a new standard in payment innovation, ensuring that the payment process is as delightful and efficient as the product or service being offered.

In conclusion, Monnify is not just another payment gateway; it's a smarter way to collect payments, ensuring business speed, accuracy, and control. With innovations like Payment Thresholds, merchants now have the flexibility to accept payments in seconds, avoiding overpayment and underpayment issues.

For businesses looking to improve customer satisfaction, reduce payment disputes, and increase conversions, Monnify is the way forward. With Monnify, you don't just process payments; optimize them. Don’t take our word for it, experience it here.