Barclays launches mobile payment solution
Isaac Pinielo | Friday August 26, 2016 15:06
Recently small businesses, especially in the informal sector, have been shunning electronic transactions as they perceived them to be costly and cumbersome.
But speaking at the launch of its new product, mPOS or mobile point of sale, Barclays Bank of Botswana lending director, Dineo Saleshando maintained that the mobile POS brings convenience due to its portability and ease of use for business clients.
“I am sure you are all aware of the point of sale machines, where you use your bank cards to pay for goods and services. We have gone one further and introduced a device, which takes that functionality anywhere. We call it mPOS,” she said.
Saleshando explained that mPOS is an innovative card payment solution provided solely by Barclays Bank of Botswana, adding that the wireless payment solution facilitates transactions with retailers wherever they may be within cellphone network range.
She said the mPOS payment solution is targeted at businesses delivering goods and services from different locations, and not necessarily brick and mortar outlets.
“This in essence means that use of mPOS machines brings convenience due to its portability and ease of use for our business clients,” she said.
According to Saleshando, customers will no longer be inconvenienced by not having access to their money to pay for goods and services, provided they have their bank cards.
She said consumers can enjoy the safety and security of not needing to carry money all the time, noting that with their bank card handy they have the same access to their money as if they were using any of the bank’s other technologically-advanced products like mobile banking on their cellphones, or ATM network. “By helping business trade wherever there are opportunities through card transactions whether it is at the consumer fair, ChillStep or one of the many festivals Batswana enjoy, Barclays is in no small part helping businesses grow and prosper,” said Saleshando.
She further said while this is still a relatively new device in Botswana, they are beginning to see significant mPOS uptake amongst various businesses. She said ultimately they aim to drive revenue and add value for their business clients.
The bank’s head of acquiring, John D’souza and card acquiring manager, Poomore Molatedi had the chance to introduce the product and demonstrate how it works.