Digital payments provider Peach Payments has announced an integration with conversational commerce and CRM platform Sukhiba . The goal of this integration is to simplify the process of conducting sales through the WhatsApp messaging app.

Sukhiba, founded in 2021, is currently operational in several countries including South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Oman, and India. The platform, which is built on WhatsApp, is used by more than 35,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that deal with manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors. In August 2024, Sukhiba raised USD 1.55 million in a seed extension round to support its expansion into new markets in Africa and other emerging regions.

Facilitating WhatsApp commerce According to officials from Peach Payments, Sukhiba's technology allows merchants to integrate their product catalogues directly into WhatsApp, enabling customers to browse, purchase, and arrange deliveries through the app. The partnership leverages Peach Payments' infrastructure to provide an additional sales channel for merchants, particularly ahead of Black Friday. It also offers customers multiple payment options such as card payments, EFT, Buy-Now-Pay-Later, and other alternative methods.

Representatives from Peach Payments added that merchants who already communicate with customers via WhatsApp may find the integration particularly useful. The platform offers a consolidated approach to managing sales, payments, marketing, and customer support, all within a familiar messaging app. They emphasised that while many businesses focus on their websites, a growing number of customers prefer interacting through WhatsApp, which has a 94% penetration rate among South African internet users according to the official press release, As part of the partnership, Peach Payments merchants will benefit from special pricing during the launch phase.

Typically, Sukhiba charges a combination of subscription and per-transaction fees. However, through this partnership, merchants using Peach Payments will only be subject to a monthly subscription fee, without the additional per-transaction charge for payments processed via Peach Payments. Merchants can sign up for the service through Sukhiba’s website, with sales data accessible both through the Sukhiba merchant app and the Peach Payments dashboard.

Reconciliation and transfers are typically processed daily, although some merchants may opt for weekly cycles. .