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(Shoprite Money Market)
- Shoprite recently launched money market accounts, which allow users to receive and send money, as well as pay bills and buy airtime and data.
- You should be able to withdraw cash from accounts for the next year, but debit orders will not be allowed.
- Shoprite wants companies and the government to pay salaries into these accounts and thinks it would be ideal for social grants.
- For more articles, go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
Shoprite is making a strong push in financial services with its recently launched Money Market accounts.
Accounts do not charge monthly fees, loading fees, or transaction fees, and do not need a notification to open them.
Debit orders are not allowed to be deducted from accounts, which Shoprite is selling as a virtue. “Customers are in full control of their money,” says the company.
You can send and receive money from bills and pay utility bills, buy airtime and data. Accounts can be used to make payments for any transaction at a Shoprite, Checkers or Usave store.
Shoprite wants companies to use money market accounts for salary payments, which can also include bulk shopping voucher payments. Recipients only need a cell phone to access their funds.
Shoprite itself plans to pay 130,000 employees through money market accounts in the future and is preparing to allow public employers to pay wages into these accounts. She also believes that the accounts could be a good vehicle for government welfare payments.
The money market account, which replaces the basic Shoprite Money product launched in May 2018, will grow to have most of the transactional capabilities of a full bank account, Shoprite says.
The supermarket giant is in the process of partnering with a local bank, which it declined to name, to meet the requirements of the Financial Intelligence Center Act (FICA) and allow customers to make cash withdrawals at retail stores. your money market accounts early next time. year.
“We need to be able to count on FICA clients before they can withdraw cash directly from their Shoprite money market accounts,” says Olivier. “But that will be available early next year.”
But the company says it doesn’t want to compete with the big banks.
“Our primary market, for the money market account, is the mass market customer who generally earns less than R8,000 and generally has an average balance of less than R500 in their account,” says Jean Olivier, general manager of financial services. by Shoprite. “We don’t want to compete with banks by targeting what I would call their golden segment, people who earn at least R8,000 to R20,000 a month, which allows them to take out loans, credit cards and debit orders. We are targeting the group below that level, many of whom are unbanked or have financial difficulties and are only looking for basic transactional banking. “
One fifth of the South African population still does not have bank accounts.
Olivier says Shoprite will stick to basic transactional banking that incurs no monthly, deposit, or transaction fees. The ability to access money market accounts through the new Shoprite app or the USSD will also allow many of the services available at Shoprite money market counters, such as paying utility bills, traffic tickets, and the purchase of airtime or data, are accessible. via mobile phone.
“As the market evolves and our customers become more tech-savvy, there is a growing expectation, especially among younger generations, that financial services solutions will also be offered on their mobile phone and online,” he says. Olivier.
Shoprite is in the process of adding more functionality to the bulk payment disbursement capabilities of its Money Market account, which will soon offer a salary portal that will allow any public or private sector employer to use the system to pay workers.
Olivier says the service is particularly suitable for small and medium-sized businesses, NGOs, farmers and other entities whose salary payments often incorporate a combination of cash payments and food packages.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises, NGOs and farmers often pay their workers weekly or biweekly wages and incorporate food stamps into the payment,” he says. “They don’t want to sit with large amounts of cash on their premises, so this is an ideal solution for them.”
It could also make Shoprite’s money market account a suitable means of disbursing social grant payments and food vouchers from the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa).
“We believe we can offer a good alternative to food stamps, as the money market account is not a one-time coupon and is more secure than a coupon code or cash,” says Olivier, adding that bulk payments normally cost between R7 and R20. .
Olivier says that, over time, Shoprite itself plans to pay all of its roughly 130,000 non-corporate office employees through its money market account.
Future plans include expanding online shopping capabilities beyond the Shoprite group of stores, which include companies such as Computicket, MediRite Pharmacy, Checkers, OK Furniture, and House & Home.
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