Trade Me launches new payment system

Kiwi online marketplace Trade Me has announced a refund policy which will protect buyers from rogue sellers.

Online auction site Trade Me is launching a new payment programme aimed at making things easier for its customers.

The company will be rolling out instant payments solution Ping in the coming months, which Trade Me's head of commercial Jimmy McGee saying it would remove a pain point for many users.

"Ping is a massive upgrade on how our members pay for items on Trade Me," McGee said.

"Not only will they be able to pay by debit and credit cards, as they have for years, but with Ping they'll be able to make instant bank payments and pay with stored credit too."

McGee said the time taken to swap bank account details and wait for payments to clear was a pain point for some members and the use of Ping would increase peace of mind for users.

The payment solution would also introduce store credit, where the user had the option for sales to be stored as credit on the site and used for other purchases.

Transactions would also have the added benefit of Trade Me's recent Buyer Protection Initiative which meant if someone bought an item using Ping, if it was not as described or faulty, they would still be eligible for a refund.

"Ping increases the reach and safety net of Buyer Protection because for the first time we'll also be able to cover bank payments, as we will be able to see the transaction end-to-end," McGee said.

Trade Me's current system Pay Now, would be removed once the new system had been fully rolled out.

"Pay Now has worked really well for us and our members but it's limited in what it can do and we believe we can provide something bigger and better to our members," McGee said.

"We think our three newest initiatives: Ping, Buyer Protection and Book a Courier will work together to make our members' experience much faster, easier and even safer."