VODACOM Lesotho (VCL) here this week launched a payment digital platform, Patala Ka Mpesa, which will see consumers buy and pay for goods and services online from both big and small registered businesses.

“I’m very excited today to introduce yet another milestone in our journey to embrace the technology that we see evolving rapidly,” said VCL Financial Service Managing Director, Palesa Mphunyetsane on Tuesday.  

She said the product was named Patala Ka Mpesa to provide a linkage between big and small businesses that relied on online technologies to sell their products.

“Our Mpesa customers will now be able to pay for products using Mpesa,” said Ms Mphunyetsane.

Patala Ka Mpesa can only be accessed by a registered merchant - anybody who provides goods and services using Mpesa in exchange for services. Businesses also need to have an online presence and integrate through the open API to access these services.

API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. Each time you use an App to send an instant message or check the weather on your phone, you are using an API.

Services offered through this platform include customer to business, where a customer can go straight to the company website, choose desired products and initiate payment as well as authorise the transaction from anywhere.

Other services include direct debits, business to business as well as payments from business to customers which could be in the form of a refund or reversal of transaction or transactions amongst other things.

A transaction status query platform is also available where a customer can be provided with status of the payment in cases of complications regarding transactions.