‘Pagar es fácil’, the platform that opens borders to entrepreneurs in Ecuador

When in April 2020, the world health authorities called for social distancing and there was home confinement due to the covid-19 pandemic , millions of people saw their economies reduced and even devastated. In order for businesses to rise and new ones to emerge, Ricardo Jurado Faggioni and his two partners created the online platform Pagar e $ Fácil , where entrepreneurs, like him, can expose their products and, through it, receive money from their sales from all over the world, without having physical contact with their clients and thus avoid further infections.

Ricardo Jurado, along with his two ventures: Pagar es facil and Endurance.

How does it work? This tool is universal, therefore it is very useful for small businesses to open their horizons and jump the borders of Ecuador, explains the Guayaquil native. For example, if an Ecuadorian graphic designer promotes himself as such abroad, through his networks and the same virtual store that is part of Pagar e $ Fácil ; and find clients in European countries, or any other continent, after delivering the work done, you can receive your payment  in just one click.

“It is as if it were the ‘ PayPal ‘ of Ecuador. (PayPal is an American platform with an online payment system) ”, says Ricardo. 

“The entrepreneur enters the platform, registers, when he does, we pay him $ 5 for becoming a partner. When you are already registered, you copy a link that you send to your client, either by WhatsApp or any other means. The client follows the steps and sends the money, which he moves from his bank account to the platform. Then the entrepreneur will immediately have the money in his Pagar e $ Fácil wallet , which if he wants he can move to his bank account ”, explains Jurado, 25 years old and a Social Communication student. He demonstrates on his computer from his home in Los Ceibos, in the north of Guayaquil, where he dedicates at least 8 hours a day to this business and balances them with his study schedules.

Like the designer’s example, in Pagar e $ Fácil, taxi cooperatives operate; travel agency; clothing, perfume, and food merchants; nurses who provide services at home, gym trainers … and dozens of fledgling entrepreneurs who do not have a payment gateway.

Ricardo’s two partners are Carlos Jurado, his father and web page developer; and Carlos Ramírez, who is the programmer.

“ Paying is easy  was made, as a result of the pandemic and to generate an economy for that group of entrepreneurs who had no way of setting up a place and who only work with their Instagram and Facebook pages . And also for those who have a neighborhood store and for those who do not have a bank account. It was not created for large transactions, but for a maximum of $ 500 per transaction, ”explains Ramírez, who has also been an architect for Google and did his doctorate in robotics in Germany.

Registration to this platform, its owners explain, is free and for each transaction, users must cancel 4% . When the person who sends the money, as well as the person who receives it, are members of the digital tool, the transfer costs 35 cents.

However, there is a very interesting part of being a member of this platform, and perhaps the main reason, why every month, more people join it, says Jurado. “If someone joins as a partner, without having any entrepreneurship, they can also earn money by recommending it. That is, if you register and with your user you copy a link and send it to your network followers or friends so that they also become partners, when they join, for each transaction they make, you, who brought them, earn a commission for each. That is why there are many influencers recommending this platform ”, says Jurado.

“The commissions are born from our earnings. We share 1% to our affiliate network. Because the idea, when creating this platform, was to share the profits that are generated among all the partners, ”explains Ramírez.

Through this platform, they even have more than 200 users who already pay for their basic services and telephony . With this project, Jurado and its partners are working to link with the banking network of Ecuador , so that, for example, if entrepreneurs must charge someone who does not have a credit or debit card, whoever has to pay, can go to the store of the corner and through services such as a neighborhood bank or a friend account, make the transfer.

Another venture

Along with the platform, Ricardo has another venture that is his line of shirts: ‘Endurance’ (strength, in Spanish), and exhibiting at the online store of Pay and easy $ .

“I have been selling T-shirts for 7 years. And this venture was born after a personal, motivational experience that changed my life, ”he says.

Until he was 15 years old, Ricardo was a quite shy boy, who found it difficult to relate to others and have friends, he says. “Until I got into crossfit and in addition to exercising my body, I saw improvements in my performance and little by little I lost my fears. And to share this experience and help other people, I decided to launch my brand of sports t-shirts and I named it Endurance , with the message that you never have to give up and you have to resist in difficult times ”, he details.

It was Carlos, his father, who encouraged him to do sports and with whom now, managing the commercial part of a business, they work as partners.