Payments and software company, Yoco, has partnered with over 700 retail stores nationwide, to allow more merchants access to affordable and efficient electronic card machines and financial tools to start and run their businesses.
Entrepreneurs are seeing more red tape surrounding product structures such as complicated application forms, lengthy processes, and the requirement to have a bank account, many entrepreneurs are excluded from earning opportunities.
In South Africa, 53% of in-person payments are made in cash (FIS, 2020). By providing easy access to affordable products and payment solutions, Yoco is able to bridge this gap through their one-of-a-kind retail partnerships which allow merchants to walk into hundreds of stores, anywhere, to get a card machine, thereby increasing growth and profitability prospects for them and the economy.
Easy access to financial tools in your pocket
Yoco Go, South Africa’s most affordable card machine and Yoco Neo are available across these select retail stores, namely PepCell, Makro, Selected Builders, HiFi Corp, Incredible Connection, Cellucity, iStore and Hi-stores.
Yoco Go, a pocket-sized device that connects to your smartphone with Bluetooth. Tap, Swipe, or Chip & Pin transactions, whatever the option, get paid wherever your business takes you. Yoco Go is ideal for mobile traders and vendors, early-stage startups, and small businesses of all kinds. Yoco Go from as little as R199.
While Yoco Neo, is built for businesses looking to grow. Yoco’s 3G card machine doesn’t need to connect to a smartphone or tablet and its built-in SIM is loaded with unlimited data for a lifetime of transactions – no Bluetooth or smart device needed.
Once a card machine is purchased, entrepreneurs can start to securely accept card payments while having online financial tools at their fingertips, all within a few minutes. Yoco believes in the principle of responsible innovation and has made it as easy as possible for small businesses to sign-up, and strives to adhere to the strictest standards when it comes to safety and security, whether verifying merchant sign-ups or customer payments.
Merchants will have free access to online business resources such as:
- Yoco Link, an online payment link that can be sent via WhatsApp, SMS, email, on your invoices, or via social media,
- Yoco Gateway, an e-commerce payment solution that enables entrepreneurs to accept cards on their website and;
- Yoco Business Portal allows you to track your credit card sales, view reports, manage your business and sell online.
Lena Smith, head of retail at Yoco, says: “We have set our focus in the retail space to make our card terminals more accessible to customers, a first for South Africa. We want to enable our merchants and their communities to thrive and we believe that these retail partnerships will bring us a step closer to our goal of OpenCommerce for all.”