FNB mobile payment device a step closer
UK company Powa Technologies Group, which has partnered with SA banking group FNB to develop a mobile payments device, has completed its first round of outside funding totaling $76 million.
Powa creates technology which allows consumers and businesses to make transactions through mobile devices.
The group says it will use the money to expand its base globally, including South Africa.
In October 2012, Powa signed a deal with South African bank FNB to offer its payment device in the country.
The device, mPowa, works by using a free mobile phone app and a reader, which connects to a smartphone or mobile device by plugging into its headphone socket or connecting via Bluetooth.
It enables companies and individuals to accept card payments from their customers on the go in a quick and convenient way. The mobile app is free to download on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows and Blackberry devices and functions as the control centre that accepts the payment.
FNB said that the agreement involves the bank embedding the mPowa tools and software into its own merchant services.
The bank remains coy over a launch date, however. “We are in the final stages of certification and design and will soon be active with the product in the coming months,” it said.
Nedbank has already launched a mobile point-of-sale solution in February, called PocketPOS, claiming a first for South Africa.
The mobile POS solution enables businesses to process debit and credit card transactions by using a smartphone connected to a secure card reader.
And in November 2012, Absa announced that it had entered into an agreement with Thumbzup, a South African payments company, for its plug-in device called “The Payment Pebble”.
Absa said that it is set to provide its Payment Pebble as a value-added service to all small business owners and merchants on-the-go from early 2013, however the group is yet to launch its product into the market.
More on SA banking
FNB teaming up with mPowa for mobile payments
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