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Paying a 1688 supplier with Mobile Money

Updated

A 1688 seller takes payment in yuan, through Chinese payment methods. From Cameroon, without a Chinese account, you have to go through someone. With many middlemen, the price you pay mixes the item, the service and the exchange rate, and you can’t tell what goes to whom.

With Cofilo, you pay in CFA francs, with MTN Mobile Money or Orange Money, and every line of the price is shown before you pay. The whole journey is in how to buy from 1688 in Cameroon.

What you pay

  • The item prices: the seller’s price, converted from yuan to CFA francs, at the wholesale tier for the quantity you choose.
  • The Cofilo fee: 10% of the item prices, at least 5 000 F, once per order, whatever the number of sellers. From 6 paid orders over the last 12 months, the rate drops to 9%, then down to 5%.
  • The seller’s delivery to your forwarder in China: included in the fee.

For example, for 250 000 F of items, the fee is 25 000 F and you pay 275 000 F. For 30 000 F of items, the minimum applies: 5 000 F of fee, 35 000 F in all. Putting your items in one cart saves you paying the minimum several times.

Not included: shipping from China to Cameroon, and customs. You settle them with your forwarder, at their rates.

How payment works

  1. Choose the forwarder the sellers will ship your items to.
  2. Choose your MTN Mobile Money or Orange Money number, or your Cofilo balance if it is enough.
  3. A payment request arrives on that number’s phone. Approve it with your Mobile Money PIN, on your phone and nowhere else.
  4. Your order is confirmed as soon as the operator confirms the payment. The invoice is on the order.

You can save one MTN number and one Orange number, yours or a relative’s. Nothing is charged until the number’s owner approves the request on their phone.

Operator confirmation sometimes takes a minute or two. If the payment stays pending, don’t pay a second time: the app keeps checking it and lets you know.

If something goes wrong

  • Before we buy, cancelling is free: the items and the fee go straight back to your Cofilo balance.
  • An item the seller no longer has: another variant at the same price or lower, or a refund of the item and its share of the fee.
  • A refund goes to your balance at once, or to a confirmed Mobile Money number within 72 hours: your account’s number, or one you have already paid with.