Startup gets Naspers’ nod

i-Pay has inked a partnership deal with a Naspers unit that will allow it to expand across the African continent.

Johannesburg - Thomas Pays’ i-Pay has inked a partnership deal with a Naspers unit that will allow it to expand across the African continent.

The fledgling company, which went live last November, allows consumers to choose what payment solution they want to use, be it a secure instant electronic transfer or an integrated online option.

Its solution has already been implemented by at least 8 companies since it went live.

Pays says the next stage of its growth will now come as it has signed up Naspers PayU as a partner. Under this deal, which will not involve any transfer of cash or equity, i_pay will be white-labelled as a tool PayU’s customers can incorporate into their solutions.

PayU already serves entities such as Pick n pay, DStv, Dion Wired and Dis-Chem.

Thomas, who founded i-Pay, says the concept was born along with a vision he had to develop a South African-focused e-commerce site. He explains the e-commerce platform was meant to be easily integratable, and come with a payment solution.

However, after seeing interest from large corporations in the payment solution, the e-commerce platform was abandoned and i-Pay was launched.

Pays concurs that i-Pay joins a raft of other payment solutions, such as SnapScan, FlickPay, VC Pay and Zapper and says “a lot of people said I was crazy”.

But, he argues, no one solution provides for every possible payment alternative, such as integrating payments via SMS, or directly through an emailed invoice, or via a point of sale device. This, Pays says, is what will make the company stand out.

“It’s not been an easy ride, says Pays. The company, based in Rivonia, Johannesburg, only has five staff but also draws on support from its sister company, digital agency Just Perfect, when needed, he says.

Pays says the deal with PayU will enable i-Pay to expand to Kenya by March, and then into Nigeria six months later. He expects to have global reach in the coming years.

i-Pay also aims to integrate itself into accounting software and allow SMS payments directly through the network, says Pays. The company will also soon launch an e-wallet.

Pays was previously the founder of online penny auction site Smokoo which was sold in March 2011 because his heart was not in waiting 18 months to get approval from digital giants such as Yahoo! to form partnerships. He also founded a dating site directed at women, Adopt Him, which is still functional.

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