Yoco enables growth and inclusion for small merchants with MediaTek technology
By Rami Osman, Director for Business Development, MediaTek Middle East and Africa.
With a growing customer base of 350,000 businesses and a 16% increase in processing volume since 2022, Yoco is a force to be reckoned with in the Africa payments landscape.
The African technology company has achieved this astonishing success by making it easily accessible for even the smallest merchants to easily accept card and digital payments.
Yoco is building a financial ecosystem for small businesses, which includes online and in-store payments, business software and capital.
It’s a market that the traditional players in merchant acquiring viewed as too small, fragmented and complex to address in a cohesive and profitable manner.
Bring IoT potential to life in Africa
MediaTek is the world’s fourth largest global fabless semiconductor company and powers more than two billion connected devices a year.
IoT platforms such as MediaTek Genio help OEMs bring devices to market faster.
The MediaTek Embedded IoT programme features AI-capable chipset platforms that enable companies to develop intelligent devices for home, enterprise, industrial, healthcare, retail, cities and more.
Rami Osman, Director for Corporate Sales and Marketing, at MediaTek Middle East and Africa, says: “Our platforms enable innovators like Yoco to rapidly come to market with solutions for small merchants that meet customers’ demands for seamless payments experiences.”
“But this is just the start of our IoT programme for Africa.”
“The continent is at the initial stage of the 5G era, a milestone that will be marked by innovations revolving around disruptive technologies such as IoT, AI, and edge computing.”
“We’re working with our B2B associates to build new-age technologies incorporating these trends and enable varied use cases, from security and precision agriculture to smart factories and next-generation payments.”
4G speeds, unlimited data, boundless potential
Yoco is transforming the payments sector by offering the most easy to use point of sale card terminals on the market.
The Yoco Neo Touch card machine, the latest addition to Yoco’s product range, connects to 4G networks to offer blazing quick speeds and unlimited data.
With a battery that lasts all day, an easy-to-use touchscreen, and the ability to accept payments right out of the box, the Neo Touch makes payment acceptance simple for small merchants.
Merchants will be able to enjoy the simplicity of the solution and how they can process a transaction without much assistance.
The card machine is powered by MediaTek’s Internet of Things (IoT) platform.
“We want to change the rules. Creating a reality where convenience, ease of use and security aren’t just buzz words, but like something real,” says Berno Potgieter, hardware product lead at Yoco.
“MediaTek accelerates our time to market with reliable and innovative products for small businesses.”
Potgieter adds: “We continue to build products with our customers, instead of for them. This principle means that instead of chasing external ideas of innovation, we are continuously looking inwards & asking customers what they need to sustain & grow their businesses.”
“Although we don’t use the same high volume of chips as many larger OEMs, MediaTek gives us access to product roadmaps and low-level technical data that enables us to customise products to our needs.”
“It’s the only semiconductor supplier with a direct presence in Africa, highlighting its commitment to the market.”
Yoco recognised that there were hundreds of thousands of small players in South Africa that were desperate to accept card and digital payments to meet customer demand and drive down the costs of cash management.
“Yoco’s mission is to enable small and underserved merchants to play an active role in the economy by offering them payment acceptance without any drama,” says Potgieter.
“We estimate there are more than 100 million small businesses across the Middle East and Africa that still transact only in cash.”
“With consumer preferences changing beyond the pandemic and businesses looking to run more efficient operations, we see a major opportunity in helping them move to digital and card acceptance.”
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