Simbisa needs to make reloadable Wa-Faya coupons

So it has been weeks since Simbisa launched Wa-Faya and it’s kind of an understatement to say that I have been a regular user of the service. Not only have I been personally buying myself coupons using PayPal, but I have also managed to turn the service into a lazy gift of sorts to friends and family. No need to go gift hunting-I just dish out coupons instead.

This is perhaps why I keep finding little faults with the service. The biggest flaw in my book remains the fact that Wa-Faya is not integrated with Dial A Delivery. The devs should hurry on and make it a thing already. How hard can it be? They already have all the bits in place it would be nice to be able to use the service to make online orders. I hate going to stores and making physical orders-it’s so 2019.

They also need a reloadable voucher

As I have already said, I have become a prolific Wa-Faya voucher user. One big problem has already cropped up. Right now I have about US$5 spread across like 6 or so coupons. Some have as little as US$0.15 while others have something close to 80 US cents. At this rate, I will have US$20 spread across multiple coupons before the year is out.

Now that would not normally be a problem if there was an easy way to spend the money but recently I discovered there isn’t. I walked into Baker’s Inn Matlock intending to pay for a muffin using two coupons. The lady at the POS was confused on how to go about it. She called her manager who was equally confused. It seems you cannot make a purchase using two vouchers at once.

Or maybe you can and the staff at shops just doesn’t know. One awkward thing about being a prolific user of the service is that depending on the outlet I visit sometimes I know more about Wa-Faya than the people on the other side of the counter.

At one outlet in Mbare, I had to wait 30 minutes for their system to be activated because as it turns out I was their first Wa-Faya customer. Every member of the staff was hurdled on the POS as they learnt how to use the system for real. It wasn’t a bad experience as I walked I was with a free drink and doughnut for my trouble.

Make a reloadable voucher

A simpler solution to this mess is to simply make a reloadable voucher. Or at least create a way to consolidate voucher balances. It makes little sense to have a gazillion vouchers with sub-dollar balances assigned to the same number. Even if it’s possible to check out using multiple vouchers it will still be a less than ideal experience anyway.

The way Wa-Faya works means that having a reloadable voucher would not be a problem. Instead of buying a voucher, you can just have the option where you can top up an existing one. There is no compromise in security as you have to provide an OTP each time you pay. Just like with integration with Dial A Delivery, the needed pieces are there. All the devs have to do is, pick each one up and crotchety them together.