Absa Bank Botswana Limited (Absa) on Wednesday introduced the first of its kind in Botswana payment solution that will allow customers to use their smartphones in place of traditional Point-of-Sale (POS) devices to process contactless card transactions.
The new product, known as a Soft Point of Sale (SoftPOS), will allow merchants as well as Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises to accept payments from customers by simply tapping their cards on mobile smart devices as opposed to traditional point of sale terminals. The bank said this will transform the way business owners operate. According to Absa, the new solution will be a quick win for businesses that do not have immediate access to physical POS terminals, as payments can be accepted anywhere, anytime via their NFC enabled Smart devices.
Speaking at the launch, Absa Botswana’s retail director, Valeta Mthimkhulu explained that the bank was pushing ahead in innovations that make business easier for merchants and transactions. Mthimkhulu further explained that another key benefit of this SoftPOS application is lower recurring fixed costs, as there is no need for any additional hardware procurement. In addition, all transactions carried out through the Absa Mobi Tap solution will be just as secure as on a “classic” POS device.
For his part, the bank’s head of cards and lending, John D’Souza said the fresh innovative solution will transform the financial space as Absa strives to lead the digital banking space. “This is a huge step towards getting the economy digitised and we are happy to support the nation’s push towards driving digital transactions,” he said. “The bank is very much interested in financial inclusion by availing this solution to the non-traditional segment of street vendors, hawkers and individuals having side hustles,” he said.
The new solution will enable customers to conduct financial transactions in a more versatile manner without having to be tethered to a single location helping them pay in places where transactions have traditionally been restricted, such as in taxi’s, sports venues, flea markets, exhibitions, farmers markets and others. “This not only improves the customer experience by speeding up service and wait times but the portability and versatility compared to traditional POS terminals is ideal for businesses that need to conduct credit card and debit card transactions on the go,” D’Souza added. The solution has been rolled out in six countries including Botswana, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana.
