Pakske makes ‘crowdfunding’ for maternity gifts easy with Online Payment Platform

Everyone who is expecting a baby soon discovers that a lot of new stuff needs to be bought. That is why it is nice to receive gifts after the birth that are actually useful. The Belgian company Pakske makes it easier for parents to ask for the gifts they want and easier for givers to choose and pay for a gift. Online Payment Platform ensures that the payments for this are smooth and secure.

"As a parent-to-be, I saw how difficult it was to create a good maternity wishlist. You can never buy all the things you need at one store," says Dries Marien, founder of Pakske. "In addition, some gifts are so expensive that you don't dare add them to your list while people could also share the cost. With our platform we digitize the purchasing process and solve these issues."

C2C payments hard requirement

In 2017, Marien built the first version of Pakske. After the first personal experiences with the platform, it was professionalized and introduced in Flanders two years later. To handle payments on the platform, Marien initially talked to large parties. This turned out not to be a good match both in terms of cost and functionality. "We had two strict requirements: the payment provider had to be able to handle Bancontact payments and facilitate payments between consumers (C2C). Especially the latter is something few can do. In addition, we found it important to have a good personal click."

Online Payment Platform met all the requirements set by Pakske. "You immediately notice that they have a strong focus on platforms. They have all the necessary licenses and technically they are ahead of the game by also facilitating payments between consumers," says Marien. "The communication was very pleasant, which also benefited the integration of the payment solution. Moreover, they had the right libraries for our technology stack, which made the implementation very quick."

Pakske now has 500 new users every month and has also been able to attract major partners such as bol.com, HEMA, de Gele Flamingo and Babypark. Parents-to-be can create a list of gifts from various webshops on the platform. The person who wants to give a gift makes a selection, is directed to the webshop and pays there.

Crowdfunding for maternity gifts

Another popular option is to ask for a contribution for a gift that people want to buy themselves. In this case, people pay a self-determined amount to the (future) parents via the platform. "We see that this is particularly popular with the larger gifts such as baby carriages. It's like crowdfunding for your maternity gifts. It is with these C2C payments where Online Payment Platform plays an important role," Marien emphasizes.

"They ensure a smooth and secure payment from the person making the contribution to the parents. The payment can be tracked precisely. The recipients also receive a message about who they received a contribution from with a link to thank this person directly. With this, we provide a pleasant and seamless customer experience for all parties."

Register as a merchant

Online Payment Platform ensures that payments are handled according to the rules. For example, anyone who wants to receive a payment through Pakske must register as a merchant. Also, Pakske does not have to worry about KYC (Know Your Customer) where users on the platform have to be identified as trusted parties.

"All this helps us offer a reliable and user-friendly platform," Marien believes. Because of the success in Flanders, he also sees opportunities to expand the reach: "We want to quickly introduce our platform in Wallonia and then expand to the Netherlands and France. Through the partnership with Online Payment Platform, facilitating the most popular payment options in these countries will not be a stumbling block."