Mastercard and Absa have partnered to create the Absa MasterPass App, a digital wallet powered by Mastercard, which will enable South Africans to make easy payments wherever MasterPass is accepted.
The app transforms the physical payment card into a digital payment tool, giving cardholders the ability to make purchases wherever MasterPass is accepted, without needing to carry their bank cards with them.
However, it is only available for online purchases at the moment. Absa says it will expand this feature to in-store shopping when merchants have signed up.
All card information is securely stored within the app, so customers do not have to re-enter details for every purchase.
The app is in the Google and Apple App stores, and is available to anyone, including non-Absa cardholders.
To pay, users open the app on their smartphones and scan the QR code on the Web site. They then select the card they want to use, enter their bank PIN, and the transaction is complete.
Mastercard launched the digital payment service in SA in July 2014, but not as an app.
Today, MasterPass is accepted at more than 270 000 merchants globally, including South African merchants such as Vodacom, Forever Resorts, Lancet Labs, Lottostar, SAA and Takealot.
Chat to your bank
In an effort to make contacting Absa personnel simpler, the bank has introduced ChatBanking for Facebook Messenger. This follows a Twitter launch earlier this year.
ChatBanking allows users to conduct day-to-day banking through their social media accounts. Users are able to check their account balance, buy airtime, buy electricity and obtain a mini-statement.
They are also able to make a payment to an existing beneficiary that they have paid at least once before.
To access ChatBanking, users will have to set up a profile on Absa's Web site.
Personal details and account numbers are never displayed in the chat, to protect user information.
"The launch of ChatBanking for Facebook Messenger, in addition to Twitter, will open many doors for easier, better digital interactions to take place wherever the customer is. It offers an even faster, simpler and richer experience than traditional digital banking channels," says Ashley Veasey, group CIO and chief digital officer at Barclays Africa.
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