How to grow your payments app with small-scale fishers and fish traders
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
Along coasts, lakes and rivers, millions of people make a living from small-scale fishing. Boats come in to a beach or landing site, and fish traders, often women, buy the catch on the spot, then sell it fresh, or smoke or dry it for markets further away. Boat owners share the money with their crews, and pay for fuel, ice and nets. Almost all of this runs on cash, handed over on a busy beach at dawn. A payments app that lets traders pay for the catch by phone, lets boat owners pay crews and suppliers, and lets traders take payments at market can win whole landing sites, and every fisher and buyer sees your app.
Talk to fishers and fish traders
Ask local fishers and fish traders:
- How do traders pay for the catch when the boats come in?
- How do boat owners share the money with their crew?
- How do you pay for fuel, ice and nets?
- Where do traders sell the fish, and how do their buyers pay?
Pay for the catch by phone
Letting traders pay boat owners by phone at the landing site means less cash on the beach and a clear record of every sale.
Pay the crew and suppliers
Boat owners can send each crew member their share and pay for fuel and ice straight from the app, without counting out cash.
Grow along the fish chain
Fish passes from fishers to traders to market sellers and restaurants. When each of them pays through your app, one landing site can bring a whole chain of users with it.
Build it
Create your own financial platform.
Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.
Build my platform →Questions people ask
What about fish farmers?
The fish farmers guide covers raising tilapia and catfish in ponds and tanks, selling to traders, restaurants and families at harvest time.
Fish farmers →What about boat operators?
The boat and ferry operators guide covers small operators selling tickets at the jetty and taking bookings for trips.
Boat and ferry operators →Can I call it a bank?
In most countries "bank" is a protected word you can only use with a banking licence. Call it an account, a wallet, an app or a platform. The accounts and payments behind a SendPay Business platform are powered by licensed partners.
Is there a step-by-step plan I can follow?
Yes. The free launch checklist takes you from picking your people and naming your app to setting fees, going live and winning your first ten customers.
Digital bank app launch checklist →How do I start?
Pick a template, name it and preview every page before you pay. Your platform can be live on your own domain within 24 hours of confirmation.
Build my platform →Read next
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.