Chowdeck Introduces Vendor Badges to Enhance Verification

Chowdeck has implemented a new vendor badge system following an investigation by Techpoint Africa that exposed gaps in its onboarding process. The badges will be awarded to officially verified Chowdeck partners who have completed the necessary documentation.

Until verification is complete, businesses will face stricter restrictions and cannot operate fully. The verification process includes checks against corporate affairs commission (CAC) records, tax identification numbers, ownership information, operational addresses, and bank details.

Chowdeck stated that it will work to verify partners using a system called Mono SmileID. The investigation revealed that Chowdeck had fulfilled orders from fictitious restaurants without flagging them, raising concerns about vendor impersonation and customer safety.

Although some businesses were initially rejected due to mismatched names and CAC numbers, they were allowed to proceed with registration under certain conditions, such as reaching a daily payout threshold of 100,000 naira.