Absa Launches Mobi Tap Solution

• SoftPOS allows merchants and SMMEs to use their smartphones instead of traditional Point-of-Sale devices
• Botswana is among six African countries where the Tap on Glass payment solution is being introduced

Also known as Tap on Glass payment solution, the Mobi Tap offering is a soft POS solution that allows merchants and Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises to use their smartphones instead of traditional Point-of-Sale (POS) devices to process contactless card transactions.

According to Absa, this solution essentially transforms commercial off-the-shelf Near Field Communication (NFC) smartphones and tablets into secure contactless payment terminals that require no additional hardware, plug-ins, card readers or dongles to accept PIN-protected card payments, which means lower costs. The solution is considered a quick win for businesses that do not have immediate access to physical POS terminals because payments can be accepted anywhere, anytime via their NFC-enabled smart devices.

Speaking at the launch of the solution in Gaborone on Wednesday this week, the Managing Director of Absa Bank Botswana, Keabetswe Pheko-Moshagane, said the introduction of the SoftPOS is a testament to the bank’s strategy to remain laser-focused on building a digital-led business. “In building a digitally-led business, we are determined to continue to launch solutions that will cater for our market needs and to make sure that our products are adaptable by the users that we are targeting,” she said.

She asserted that the newly-launched product will facilitate payments “in a very easy way”. In a situation where clients do not have smartphones, the bank will issue them gadgets that will enable them to also use the Absa Mobi Tap. Pheko-Moshagane said the solution is one of the many that the bank will continue rolling out in pioneering payment solutions as Absa strives to remain relevant in the market.

With Botswana scheduled to stop use of cheques as a mode of payment by the end of this year, the Absa Botswana MD said there is a deliberate strategy by her bank to make sure that there are various solutions and platforms that will enable customers to still facilitate payments. The bank’s Retail Director, Valeta Mthinkhulu, said the fact that the solution turns every single device into a POS will make transactions cheaper.

“We are excited to bring this to our clients because it makes the cost of transactions cheaper,” she said. “It also means we continue to innovate and listen to our clients.” Mthimkhulu added that the Absa Group is launching the product in a number of markets. “Botswana is one of the six countries where we are launching the solution,” she said. The other countries are Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and the Seychelles.