A partnership with Mastercard to address payment solution challenges for e-commerce.

Fijian SMEs face specific challenges around online payments, including accessing international payment gateways. For example, there is a (mis)perception that SMEs pose a pre-payment risk to acquiring banks. This results in high transaction fees and the lodgment of a security deposit, that are often beyond the capacity of SMEs. There is also an inherent belief that ecommerce in Fiji poses a fraud liability for acquiring banks. This is due to previous payment system protocols that placed the liability for unauthorized (usually fraudulent) transactions with the merchant. One means of addressing these misperceptions and mitigating these risks is upgrading the security systems of Fijian banks. Fijian bank Westpac currently offers an ecommerce payment gateway (MPGS) delivered by eTrade Alliance leverage partner Mastercard. Mastercard is working with Westpac to upgrade the MPGS with 3DS2, an authentication protocol that reduces the risk for Fijian SMEs to integrate into the payment gateway and provides e-commerce customers a safer and more seamless purchase experience.

The Alliance for eTrade Development, in partnership with Mastercard, Westpac and qualified local/regional training partners, can play a key role in supporting Fijian SMEs uptake of the upgraded MPGS, as well as providing the overall ecommerce skills and knowledge that facilitates SMEs to use the payment gateway to maximum effect. This activity also addresses two key gaps identified by the PIFS E-Commerce Assessments for Fiji and the broader region: (1) executing e-payments and (2) ecommerce skills development.