Growsari, a B2B ordering and store solution platform in the Philippines, is set to roll out a program that could soon allow the smallest of retail outlets — like sari-sari stores — to accept digital payments through the organization’s QR code app.
By providing access to Growsari’s universal PH QR code, Filipino neighbourhood stores can now accept digital payments from e-wallets or through a mobile device.
The Sariclub QR codes will be displayed conspicuously inside sari-sari stores so their customers can make digital payments using the codes. Growsari started installing QR PH codes across their network last month and is now targeting at least 200,000 stores so they can start accepting QR PH payments by 2023.
The move, according to Sandeep Bhalla, head of Financial Services of Growsari, is meant to strengthen the B2B payment’s commitment to assist MSMEs in the Philippines to adapt to the age of digitalization. It will also help modernize their store operations.
“We are entering into a new normal after the pandemic. And Growsari is building a digital ecosystem that is inclusive and easy to understand for the millions of mom-and-pop stores in the country. We are confident the initiative will facilitate better store management and an efficient digital payments gateway to the local communities,” said Bhalla in a press statement.
Each transaction paid by a customer to the store will instantly become available on the store’s e-wallet in the Growsari app. This way, all transaction receipts and records will become easily accessible.
By driving the growth of digital payments, Growsari is hoping to educate and enable more store owners to track their daily earnings and minimize errors in balancing their manual cash ledgers.
Meanwhile, all digital payments received through the QR code will be credited to Growsari’s merchant e-wallets that can be used seamlessly for all other Growsari transactions like ordering FMCG, and E-service products like payment of load, bills, or wallet top-ups without the restrictive limits of personal wallets.
And to fully help stores in adapting and using Digital wallets in-app, field agents visit stores frequently to facilitate instant top-ups for store owners who don’t have any bank accounts.
Helping retail stores in PH that are underrepresented and underbanked
Bhalla noted that small physical retail sectors have always been underrepresented and underbanked, mainly because they are technologically marginalized and logistically difficult to organize as a group.
And with the pandemic accelerating the shift to digital, store owners are feeling the pressure to adjust to the new landscape. Thus, Bhalla said Growsari continues to bridge the gap between financial institutions and sari-sari stores by rolling out Universal PH QR codes, in partnership with Instapay-approved member institutions.
Quick Response, or QR technology, involves a safe and secure payment method and benefits customers through faster, easier and cheaper payment options with greater convenience. Through Growsari, sari-sari stores can now accept digital payments from their customers (sukis), making them more competitive and levelling the playing field between small and large retail stores.
Once Growsari’s rollout has been completed, sukis of sari-sari stores in the Philippines now just need to look for the Sariclub QR code displayed in the front of the neighbourhood store, then scan-to-pay using their preferred bank or wallet.