When you're a player in the South African entrepreneurial market, you have a lot of odds stacked against you. But you're also wired a little differently to most people: you have a vision and no matter the economy, the cabinet, or the virus, you have plans to get there.
At iKhokha, we have seen an incredible amount of resilience since we've been around. But it's exhausting to be resilient all the time when how you really want to feel is excited, passionate, and ready to make big moves. That's why all of our projects are aligned towards empowering business owners, making business simpler and making money easier.
The project we're focusing on today is iKash.
Embracing FinTech in South Africa
Before we get into it, we want to highlight why using financial technology to boost your business is a lucrative idea, especially in our country.
Despite social and economic disturbances, South Africa has remained a strong player within the Financial Technology sector. That's because fintech works well within large populations who have access to the internet and mobile. This is a good thing considering figures have shown that, out of the African continent, South Africa has been the most penetrable market for financial technology.
In South Africa, an estimated 94% of people have consistent access to the internet and over 100 for every 100 people use mobile phones.
With these numbers in mind, it would make sense to incorporate modern-day financial solutions for your business.
That's why we're so passionate about business owners embracing fintech and using it for their day-to-day operations. You have a world of opportunity ahead of you and your customers are more than willing to participate.
What is iKash?
Okay, so where does iKash fit into all of this?
iKash is our very own digital currency here at iKhokha, and you can earn it using your Mover Pro and the free iKhokha Mobile App. Essentially iKash helps our card merchants facilitate cash payments quickly and painlessly.
It's also an integral part of how we empower you to start a side hustle straight from your business. iKash can be made from nearly anywhere: hairdressing salons, delivery services, take-aways and spaza shops. Whatever your business, you can find an easier way to turn over more money each month for less effort.
Read Your Go-to Guide for Making iKash here.
Does iKash Hold Value?
20iK equals R20.
iKash isn't pretend money – it holds the same value as the South African Rand. iKash can be spent in the iKhokha app or you can turn it into hard cash
You cannot withdraw iKash from an ATM, but there's another way to get your commission from your iK Wallet (your in-app digital wallet that holds all your iKash) and into your back pocket.
How Can I Become Eligible?
You need two things to start making iKash straight from your place of business:
1) An iKhokha Mover Pro
2) The free iKhokha App
The iKhokha Mover Pro is our wireless card machine that connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth. The Mover Pro lets you trade and sell anywhere because it's completely portable.
You can also provide your customer with digital receipts and tap, swipe or insert credit and debit cards. Apart from being a seamless payment system, you can expect to pay low transaction rates and no monthly rental fees (it's your business, it should be your card machine).
You can find out all about setting up your Mover Pro in this article here.
How Can I Make More of It?
When you become a part of the iK Tribe (when you're using one of our card machines for your business) you open up a world of mutually beneficial transactions – for you and your customer.
You make more iKash by selling iK Vend prepaid services.
Become the King of Convenience with iK Vend
Having two streams of income coming in from one business is a great way to solidify your place in the small business space. We make this possible with our newest in-app vending feature, iK Vend.
iK Vend lets you sell prepaid services straight from your cellphone, and you earn an iKash commission for every sale you make.
And considering you'll be providing necessities that all South Africans need to buy or settle, there is huge profit potential.
iK Prepaid Products:
- Data
- Airtime
- Electricity
- Water
- Prepaid Gas
Settling with iK Vend:
- Telkom Bills
- EasyPay Bills
- Pay@ Bills
- Traffic Fines
- DStv Bills
As a business owner, your job is to make your customers life easier. With iK Vend, your customers can come to you for more than just a coffee or a haircut. iK Vend helps buyers to save time in their busy days whilst they're visiting the merchants they love the most.
Think about it: if somebody can't get a lift to get home because they've run out of airtime, you can help. If a customer gets a notification that their DStv bill is due whilst they're having a brunch with friends, they can get it over and done with while paying for their meal at the same time.
Again, every time you make one of these transactions you earn an iKash commission that goes straight into your iK Wallet.
Let the People Know
The best way to make more iKash? Let people know about your newest side-hustle.
When you unbox your Mover Pro, we include stickers and a card machine tent to advertise that you accept card payments, but take it further by letting your customers know they can settle their bills and buy necessities from your place of business.
iK Vend isn't going to bring you tens of thousands of Rands overnight. It's a slow-burning side-hustle that accumulates over time, so let the world know you're the hot spot for all their prepaid needs!
How Do I Turn iKash into Cash-Cash?
Now you might be wondering how iKash can help you out if it's sitting in a digital wallet.
Prepaid services are often bought using cash and cash payments are how you turn your iKash into real money. It's very simple:
- Your customer pays R50 cash for airtime
- You go into your iKhokha app and pay for the airtime using your iKash in your iK Wallet
- Your customer gets their airtime, and you get cash in return
Let's look at how it would work in real life:
Sarika uses a Mover Pro for her bakery. She recently started selling prepaid products on iK Vend. It's been going pretty well and her iK Wallet is starting to fill up.
In her first month, she accumulated R350 in iKash from card payments for products and bill settlements. A customer comes in and wants to buy R200 airtime. Sarika goes into the iKhokha App and pays for the airtime using her iKash. She gives the airtime to her customer and pockets the R200 cash. Nice!
iK Cash Advance
The more transactions you make and the more money your business makes, the more eligible you are for a cash advance from iKhokha. Remember when we said all of our projects are aligned towards empowering business owners, making business simpler and making money easier?
When you're an iK Merchant, you make more transactions and more money which fast tracks you towards an iK Cash Advance.
For your next read, check out how we uplift small businesses with our interest-free iK Cash Advance.
Boost Your Turnover Today
To wrap it all up: 35% is the increase in turnover some iKhokha merchants have experienced by using iK Vend. We have no doubt you could see the same results.
To become an iK Merchant today, chat to somebody from our team on 087 222 7000 for next-level support. We're available 7 days a week, so we're ready when you are!
Alternatively, you can start shopping now and buy your Mover Pro here.
