Nedbank has unveiled its new tap-on-phone functionality that allows all merchants and business owners to convert their mobile phones into payment acceptance devices.
Tap on phone makes it easier for small- and medium-sized businesses to use their compatible smartphones to accept quick, easy, and secure, payments from their customers for goods or services.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic facing the world we have all been sensitised to the need for social distancing, which has impacted all areas of our lives, including how we transact on a day-to-day basis. The tap-on-phone functionality enables contactless payment acceptance and there’s no health risk to the merchant or customer.
Believed to be a first for Africa, the tap-on-phone functionality builds on Nedbank’s PocketPOS payment solution.
Ciko Thomas, group managing executive of Nedbank Retail and Business Banking, comments: “The challenges presented by Covid-19 demand that the world of payments evolves even quicker, and banks must respond by providing innovative ways for businesses to connect with their customers through easy, inclusive and preferably contactless payments solutions.
“Thomas explains. ‘Nedbank’s tap-on-phone functionality enables this by harnessing the power of mobile technology.”
Thomas says that tap on phone uses the same strong security as physical payment terminals and meets Mastercard and Visa requirements. The security is further enhanced by the fact that customers do not have to hand over their physical bank cards to a merchant when paying.
He points out that tap on phone saves businesses money and time because they can receive electronic payments without having to invest in costly hardware such as a point-of-sale (POS) device or fixed data or telephone lines before they can start trading. An Android device that is on version 7.0 or newer, and is NFC-enabled, is all they need. This makes the functionality especially valuable for SMMEs, and informal traders that could not previously accept debit and credit card payments.
Tap on phone is the result of a collaborative partnership between Nedbank, Mastercard, Synthesis, and iVeri. The tap-on-phone functionality aligns with Mastercard’s commitment to delivering quicker and more accessible payments, without ever sacrificing security for convenience.