By Peter Egwuatu

The stimulated spending by consumers following the use of Sterling Bank’s PayWithSpecta has contributed to ignite the economy and mitigates against recession caused by coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown of the economy.

Specta, Nigeria’s fastest lending platform powered by Sterling Bank created a digital credit solution known as PayWithSpecta. It was designed to help merchants to increase sales and enable consumers to enjoy the good things of life without necessarily killing themselves to pay.

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The new solution allows customers to pay for goods in instalments, while merchants are credited instantly, thus helping businesses increase sales. PayWithSpecta offers digital credit limits to customers to purchase items in-store at merchant locations or from merchant online platforms.

Also, PayWithSpecta gives merchants the opportunity to access credit for their business activities.

Consumers can make purchases at zero per cent interest rate at designated stores for those who choose 30 to 90 days repayment tenor and as low as 1.75 percent monthly for tenors of 7 to 12 months repayment tenor.

In a chat with the Divisional Head, Retail and Consumer Banking at Sterling Bank, Shina Atilola, disclosed that the new product has enabled customers to buy goods from merchants in-store and  from online platforms on credit.

He said the benefits enjoyed by merchants on the bank’s newly introduced PayWithSpecta platform was how it provided funds and disposable income for consumers to pay for services and make essential purchases with payment spread over time.

According to Atilola, customers can assess their credit limits via the PayWithSpecta platform (www.paywithspecta.com); use their limits at the merchant’s store and even access 30 per cent of the limit as cash. This will enable customers spread payment up to 12 months while the merchant gets his payments upfront.

He explained that: “ To sign up, customers will provide their basic information and the platform will give an instant credit decision all within five minutes, he said. The website will then generate a Specta ID for the customer. The customer can then utilize the spending limit by providing the Specta ID at any of the bank’s partner stores (online or in-store) to conclude a purchase.”

Atilola explained that the credit/spending limit is valid for three months and can still be renewed if not utilized; and you are not charged for unutilized spending limits.  He further stated that PaywithSpecta provides more convenience with lending to the customer and gives him access to 30 percent of the credit limit as cash.

He also added that for businesses across the country to start benefiting from this, business owners need to visit the PayWithSpecta website to sign up to start receiving payments from consumers as this will significantly increase revenue for any business.

He advised customers to do their shopping through PayWithSpecta with their Specta ID, saying the Specta ID is the smartest way available in Nigeria to make purchases.

Impact of product

Commenting on the impact of the product during the recession period, Atilola said: “COVID-19 impacted the world’s economy, and Nigeria is not an exception. The capacity of a consumer to pay for products and services diminished. We know the merchant wants to sell, and the consumer wants to buy. A significant challenge has been the capacity of the consumer to make purchases. We created PaywithSpecta to solve this nagging problem. It allows consumers to pay for goods in instalments, while merchants are credited instantly.”

Why product was introduced

On what inspired the bank to introduce a solution that allows customers to take home their purchase from merchants stores with an option of paying for later over time, he said : “You will agree with me that the outbreak of COVID-19 and the lockdown that followed affected businesses. Among the worst-hit are small businesses and households which necessarily precipitates an economic downturn. It means consumers will not spend, merchants will not sell, and manufacturers will keep goods in their warehouses and stop manufacturing new ones. This can lead to employees’ disengagement, which increases unemployment, and the economy will continue to be in recession. Daily spend by consumers drive economic growth.

Requirements for individuals, merchants seeking to access the payment solution

Atitola said : “The requirements are simple and straight forward. For merchants, just necessary information: The company name and its Registered Company (RC) number. Once we have the details, we add you to the platform, and consumers can use PaywithSpecta to make purchases from your store. Now, it can be in-store or online. In-store means they can visit your physical store, or they can purchase online. Some merchants are purely online. Consumers can visit their online store to buy and PayWithSpecta digital credit.”