PayPoint lets consumers pay by cash for online shopping

Cash Payments’ lets online retailers offer customers the option of paying by cash — whilst also providing quick and automatic assurance that goods have been paid for before they are despatched.

Cash Payments’ lets online retailers offer customers the option of paying by cash — whilst also providing quick and automatic assurance that goods have been paid for before they are despatched. The service also allows for age checks to be made when age-restricted items have been ordered

PayPoint.net’s new Cash Payments service lets retailers offer consumers the option to ‘Pay cash with PayPoint.net’ alongside card-based payment alternatives. The PayPoint.net system then automatically generates a reference number and printable barcode which can be presented at any of 19,800 PayPoint terminals around the country in the same way as a utility bill, mobile top-up or any other payment. And, because the system is entirely automated, once the payment has been taken, the goods can be dispatched.

11% of the population is still ‘unbanked’ and, even for those with a bank account, a new survey commissioned by PayPoint says that 20% of the population is now a ‘cash consumer’, preferring to pay cash than to use plastic. The need to manage spending better (mentioned by 68% of respondents), concerns over debt (33%) and card fraud worries (21%) were the top three reasons behind the growing number of cash consumers.

The system also represents an opportunity for youngsters to start shopping online on their own account, rather than pestering mum and dad to get their credit cards out. Age-restricted goods could also be more safely sold using this service, says PayPoint, since payments vouchers for age-restricted goods feature a prominent age warning, which will prompt the PayPoint terminal operator to verify the customer’s age, before completing the transaction. And, if they cannot confirm the customer’s age, they have the option to cancel the transaction.

Transaction fees are not cheap at 3.25% plus 20p for the retailer (there is no charge for the customer) but set-up fees are being waived for those willing to test the water by being one of the first to give the new service a go.