WIZZIT Digital turns African Android phones into sales terminals

By , K24 Digital
On Tue, 2 Feb, 2021 18:07 | 3 mins read
WIZZIT Digital has launched its Tap2Pay soft point of sale (POS) with PIN solution and is due to go live with an initial launch customer during February 2021. [PHOTO | FILE]
WIZZIT Digital has launched its Tap2Pay soft point of sale (POS) with PIN solution and is due to go live with an initial launch customer during February 2021. [PHOTO | FILE]
WIZZIT Digital has launched its Tap2Pay soft point of sale (POS) with PIN solution and is due to go live with an initial launch customer during February 2021. [PHOTO | FILE]

Software only solution enables smartphones to be used for PIN protected contactless transactions for any amount with no additional hardware required

A financial technology company is changing African smartphones into shop sales machines that work in person and online. The new technology means PIN numbers can be used on smartphones and the seller needs no special equipment.

This is important news for small and medium sized businesses in Africa that currently have to spend lots of money buying and looking after sales thermals and machines.

WIZZIT Digital has launched its Tap2Pay soft point of sale (POS) with PIN solution and is due to go live with an initial launch customer - one of the largest Pan-African commercial banks – during February 2021.

The launch followed the certification by both Mastercard and Visa of WIZZIT Digital’s Tap2Pay SoftPOS with PIN solution with regards to functional, security and branding requirements.

The solution is 100% software only, enabling merchants - either instore or online - to accept PIN secured “tap and go” transactions on any NFC enabled Android phone. There is no need for any separate card reader or PIN-entry device, with PIN entry enabled through WIZZIT Digital’s patented secure “soft” PIN pad.

“Simply put, WIZZIT Digital’s Tap2Pay solution transforms commercial off-the-shelf 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,” says Brian Richardson, Chief Executive Officer of WIZZIT Digital.

Uniquely WIZZIT Digital’s Tap2Pay solution makes it possible for PIN entry to be carried out on either the merchant’s mobile device or - if customers would prefer - allows merchants to ‘push’ PIN entry to customers’ own devices. Customer’s own devices can be Android or iOS.

WIZZIT Digital’s Tap2Pay solution can be installed on any NFC enabled Android phone or embedded into a merchant or financial service provider app.

“The PIN protected feature of the solution means there is no limit to the payment amount a merchant can accept – unlike regular contactless payments that are not PIN protected,” says Richardson.

Richardson explains that the ability for consumers to enter their PIN on their own device, as well as the obvious reduction in cash usage, is especially relevant in the present COVID-19 environment, as everyone is attempting to minimise touching shared surfaces in order to combat the spread of the virus.

WIZZIT Digital’s Tap2Pay solution also offers the same level of convenience and security to eCommerce. Customers can pay with their card for online purchases by tapping their payment card and entering their PIN, all on their NFC enabled personal Android phone.

This additional unique ability allows online transactions to be substantially more secure with no card details stored on any devices, reduces card fraud and decreases transaction costs for merchants/retailers.

“We believe that all payments should by default be PIN protected, irrespective of the value of the transaction and irrespective of whether the transaction is instore or online,” says Richardson. “Ultimately, with PIN protection merchants can securely accept any card payment regardless of the amount, and regardless of any contactless payment limits.”

WIZZIT Digital will be primarily targeting financial institutions and payment gateways who want to provide digital payment services to an estimated 130 million micro/small merchants worldwide currently without card acceptance point of sale capabilities.

Particularly attractive to the financial institutions and payment gateways about the WIZZIT Digital Tap2Pay SoftPOS with PIN solution is the fact that the solution includes a fully fledged PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) certified switch from which the application is controlled.

“This aspect of the payment solution sets it apart from similar solutions in the marketplace because this is a complete out of the box solution with a seamless integration into an existing acquiring infrastructure, allowing the bank’s merchants to use their smartphone as a POS device,” says Richardson.

According to a World Bank study, micro, small and medium retailers (MSMRs) made and accepted around in a single one-year period $34 trillion in supplier payments, wages and salaries, and customer payments, of which $19 trillion were made utilising cash and checks.

The unique selling points of WIZZIT Digital’s Tap2Pay SoftPOS with PIN solution for the merchants are: the elimination of any separate payment and PoS hardware or maintenance of any sort, paper-free receipt services, reduced customer wait periods, and the ability to accept card payment rather than cash or cheques.

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