More than 83 000 golfers in South Africa will have access to new levels of financial freedom with the announcement of a groundbreaking deal between Nedbank and the JSE-listed AST group.
Nedbank - a leading sponsor of golf over many years - and AST have reached an arrangement that allows golfers holding the Abraxas National Golf Network (ANGN) handicapping card the opportunity to convert their existing card to include financial transaction capabilities. Golfers will have the choice of an internationally accepted MasterCard credit or debit card for financial transactions combined with the existing functionality of being able to record scores and access latest handicaps.
The breakthrough comes after intensive research that showed 64% of golfers wanted a handicapping card that could double up as a credit and / or debit card.
For the golfer, the deal has obvious advantages. It offers the convenience of no longer having to carry large sums of cash on a golf outing, and simultaneously reduces the number of cards in the player`s wallet.
The some 190 golf clubs connected through the ANGN system will benefit from a security point of view because transactions will be cashless.
According to a spokesperson for AST, the tie-up with Nedbank was ideal, given the similarity of the target market and the good market fit. " Nedbank was also chosen due to its sponsorship of the internationally famous Nedbank Golf Challenge, formerly known as the Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge, its association with MasterCard, renowned for their golf sponsorships worldwide, and most importantly because Nedbank is associated with the high standard of service that holders of the Abraxas NGN card expect."
"The Abraxas card is now used by the vast majority of golfers in South Africa and they will now have access to this exciting new facility," says Nico Spence, managing director of Business & Design Software, a subsidiary of the AST Group.
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