Possibility to use e-payment on their website could become reality soon for several media outlets in North Macedonia supported by Thomson Foundation through the ‘Media for All’ project. As a result of this support these media will be able to offer and charge their content, goods and services – depending on their business model – electronic way.
“First, we identify banks in Macedonia that offer e-commerce services, such as Komercijalna, Stopanska and NLB bank. Then, we assessed the capacities of media that planned to use these services and made an agreement with intermediary company WSPay to offer their payment solution, support media and assist them in integration with selected banks. That system, on one side, will provide adequate technical support to the media to easier charge their services electronically, while, on the other side, for banks this will involve advanced services for acceptance of pay cards and optimization of their resources since intermediary companies will be in charge of that. WSPay, intermediary company, has interest to enable merchants in North Macedonia connection to larger number of banks which also contribute to their own business,” explained Aleksandar Birovljev, leading expert in e commerce and e payments in the region, and of the key Thomson Foundation mentors in development of new business models for media.
Birovljev works with Radio Kanal 77 from Shtip on development of their side business – webshop. Its potential is huge since it aims to unified the offer from Shtip, its surrounding, and as well as from the entire country. Simultaneously to this, this radio station which is the leader on Macedonian media market, plans to activate the club of its users which has potential to transform their web-shop into a respectable marketplace.
Besides Radio Kanal 77, three more media from North Macedonia will benefit from this e payment system in implementation of their business plans - OhridNews from Ohrid, Nezavisen vesnik from Skopje and TV Kiss i Menada from Tetovo. Thomson foundation, as part of the ‘Media for All’ project, supports 11 media in North Macedonia in developing feasible and localized businesses of media outlets.
