In a South  African first, the Telesure Group has launched a new financial services business.

Dashpay is a card payment solution, certified by MasterCard and Visa, that delivers affordable and bank-agnostic payment solutions to the SME retail sector.

Anton de Souza, Telesure group executive director and MD of Telesure Financial Services, comments: “The Telesure group has a strong history of delivering innovative services into the local market and given that the group was the first in the market to deliver paperless and telephonic insurance; business insurance for SMEs and online quotes and claims; 24 hours a day with claim tracking abilities; our focus has always been to examine business models that ignite and disrupt the market, and Dashpay is no different.”

“Dashpay merchant services is an independent card payments business, focused solely on managing and processing the debit and credit card payment needs of SME retailers locally. Given our understanding of this sector and its financial requirements, Dashpay is a strong fit for the group.”

The Dashpay business model aims to make the payment process simpler, easier and more affordable for the SME sector, De Souza says. “As Dashpay is not a bank, but in fact a SME itself, it understands the challenges and the opportunities of this sector, and as a result have focused its offering on providing affordable value-for-money card acceptance, which is both safer and more convenient than cash.

“When we were approached with this opportunity, it was very important to the group that this business understood the simplicity and innovation required to build lasting relationships with SME retailers locally. As a Group, we were examining a viable means to grow our financial service expertise and Dashpay filled this exact market requirement of simplicity, affordability and convenience, backed by the experience of the Telesure Group.

“For SME retailers that want to partner with a company that understands price sensitivities for card payments, no matter what type of product is used, then Dashpay has a strong proposition and offers a real alternative to the banking sector locally.”

Dashpay has partnered with Ingenico, with its range of wireless payment terminals. Jacques Behr, executive vice-president: EMEA at Ingenico, says: “With over 20-million terminals deployed in over 125 countries, we are delighted to deliver innovative and secure transaction solutions across all sales channels (in-store, mobile and online). Our partnership with Dashpay will bring with it our global experience and infrastructure, as well as our local support, which will enable more convenient channels to South African retailers.”

De Souza adds: “Dashpay makes it easier for the SME retailer to manage its card payments by offering a self-service Web portal to easily check and reconcile daily transactions, freeing them up to concentrate on serving their customers during critical trading hour.  As Dashpay is exclusively focused on the processing of debit and credit payments for the SME, the business is able to provide a holistic solution to this sector – from deploying point of sale terminals, processing card transactions and crediting the bank account of the merchant, Dashpay will take complete care of a SME retailer’s card payments requirements.”

The Dashpay service offering includes the integration of the Point of Sale device rental and connectivity cost into a single package.

The POS devices are all fully portable and GPRS enabled, allowing SME retailers to accept payments at any location where they transact with their customers. With a full technical support team on hand, customers can be assured of prompt assistance with any issues regarding their device.

“Dashpay has ensured that its service offering is not only available to any SME retailer who undertakes R10 000 card turnover per month to a total turnover of R10-million per year, but that these retailers can benefit significantly at the outset of using Dashpay,” says de Souza.