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Business Reporter

STEWARD Bank Zimbabwe has unveiled ‘Steward Pay’, an online payment gateway that facilitates the processing of local and international payments online via VISA, Mastercard, EcoCash, and Steward Bank accounts.

Chief executive officer, Mr Courage Mashavave, said the launch of Steward Pay is part of the bank’s ongoing cycle of technology investment intended to meet its clients’ continuously evolving digital needs.

“Steward Pay replaces the need for physical cards and cash when transacting using an easy, safe and very secure payment method, whether you’re in a store or online,” he said, adding that the platform is designed with a user-friendly interface that gets payments processed instantly.

Mr Mashavave said Steward Pay combines the benefits of cloud-native technology with enhanced security, 24 24/7 availability, and world-class operational services standards. In addition, he said, it also offers enhanced performance, ease of integration, and seamless self-onboarding onto the payments platform for customers through standard APIs (application programming interfaces) .

Steward Pay utilises data analytics, thus allowing merchants to see analytics related to their transactions using a convenient configurable reporting tool. In addition, individual customers and merchants are able to use multiple accounts from different financial service providers under one account.

This allows users to pay from and merchants to receive into any bank account.

Mr Mashavave said with the introduction of the new online payment system, Steward Bank is set to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making payments safe, simple and smart for individual customers and businesses in Zimbabwe.

“We are proud to continue playing a key role in facilitating online payments for businesses across Zimbabwe, and to help foster further economic growth in the country,” he said.

“Steward Pay will empower customers by diversifying their payment options, providing greater flexibility and peace of mind.”

Mr Mashavave said it was easy for one to be onboarded as a Steward Pay merchant.

To make a payment using Steward Pay, he said a customer simply registers a profile on the Steward Bank Square app, or while initiating a payment for the first time. They then add a supported payment method, such as their Steward account or EcoCash wallet details.

To finalize the payment, the customer will then select the Steward Pay option on an integrated merchant’s platform. Once authenticated, the payment is  transferred directly from the customer’s bank or wallet to the merchant’s account. The customer is returned to the checkout page and the transaction is complete.