Electronic payments have been around for quite some time. In 1994 the Stanford Federal Credit Union was the first institution to offer online banking to its customers. This allowed their customers to make payments to each other and shortly after bill payments. With the limited capacity of the world wide web at that time, the software was very difficult to maneuver and not user friendly.
In that same year, Pizza Hut in the United States expanded its capacity to offer online ordering. Since then online ordering and payments have evolved drastically to meet the needs of the population. E-commerce continues to grow globally as “social shopping” becomes the norm.
There are many reasons why e-payments are becoming the preferred solution for businesses, some of these include:
If you’re a restaurateur thinking about expanding the options available for your customers, electronic payments can be a step in the right direction. More and more customers are going online searching for their favourite foods. While it can be a challenge for a restaurant to manage their own ordering software there are third party solutions like KariBites which offers online food ordering, order management and electronic payments for take out and dine-in services. KariBites is currently available in Grenada and Antigua.
There are other services available in the region. In Grenada, Yogo offers online ordering for merchants, grocery stores and restaurants. QuikServe is a business in Antigua that offers online food ordering services and order management for restaurants. Island direct is another multi-island service which offers online ordering for restaurants, grocery stores and other services.
The Caribbean, like most regions around the world is growing its capacity to support technology solutions. As the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank is in the process of issuing digital currency, electronic payments may soon become the new normal.