Nedbank has begun testing its contactless payment cards in South Africa. Customers can simply tap their cards for payments of up to R500 without having to provide transactional PINs. On the other hand, payments above R500 will still require a PIN. This contactless payment solution is the first “tap and pay” method in Africa.
Nedbank says that the COVID-19 pandemic inspired the payment solution. “The challenges presented by COVID-19 demands that the world of payments evolves even quicker. Hence, banks must respond by providing innovative ways for businesses to connect with their customers through easy and inclusive contactless payments solutions,” says Ciko Thomas, Nedbank Group Managing Executive for Retail and Business Banking.
He went further to say that the solution saves businesses the cost of procuring a Point of Sales (POS) machine, as well as data for processing transactions.
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Nedbank’s contactless payment card can be used on machines (ATMs and smartphones) that have the Near Field Communication (NFC) symbol. The customer would have to input payment details on the bank app before the contactless card is used to complete the transaction.
A customer has to slot in the card to be able to use machines an ATM that doesn’t have the symbol. Also, note that the user can disable the contactless functionality on Visa and Mastercard cards but cannot for an American Express Card. Small business owners can also use its “tapped on phone” nature to convert their smartphones into payment accepting devices.
The “tap and pay” method was introduced via a collaborative partnership between Nedbank, Mastercard, iVeri, and Synthesis. The feature is still in its pilot stage and has been distributed to few merchants, individuals and business owners to test. The client base will increase in the second half of 2020, and the technology will be made available to all Nedbank clients and third-party application developers afterwards.
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