Digital fintech enablement provider Ukheshe Technologies and telco Infobip, have developed South Africa’s very first WhatsApp payment gateway.

According to the press release, in addition to being South Africa’s first digital wallet platform, the solution is also the first WhatsApp channel to enable payments using QR codes. The project and collaboration with Infobip forms part of Ukheshe’s objective of expanding its international reach as a solution driven B2B provider of digital-first payment solutions that enable banks, telcos, and fintechs to provide banking and payment services to their customers through a solution called ‘Chat Banking’. 

Infobip’s deployment of a WhatsApp Business API solution leveraged by Ukheshe’s Eclipse API integration is a first of its kind. The solution allows mobile operator customers to send money to anyone with a mobile number quickly and securely with no need for another app or any additional software. Besides, the service offering of the digital wallet platform will be extended to accommodate the issuing of virtual cards, which coupled with chat banking, underpins Ukheshe’s drive to support digital-first ecommerce adoption. 

Furthermore, Ukheshe and Infobip also provide an intuitive chatbot service to ensure mobile operator customers receive assistance to queries and personalised follow up customer service should they require.