Nedbank's mobile point of sale device, PocketPOS, is aimed at small businesses, which means the pricing needs to be reasonable and the system has to be portable and easy to use.
Nedbank has realised that a major issue for small business is collecting money once work has been done. This is especially true for mobile businesses like plumbers, electricians and delivery services. Promises are made to pay by EFT, but sometimes these aren't honoured, or the small business has to constantly call customers to remind them to pay.
Nedbank has unveiled the PocketPOS to solve just this problem. The PocketPOS is a mobile point of sale device that is truly portable. It is the first device of its kind that is able to accept the Chip & Pin debit and credit cards in a secure manner.
The merchant simply hands the keypad over to the customer while he/she fires up the PocketPOS app on a mobile phone. The customer inserts a credit card and enters the PIN on the pad. The mobile app then sends the encrypted info using the phone's data connection (3G or WiFi) to the banking system, and the transaction is finalised. The customer can have the receipt e-mailed automatically, or have a printed receipt, depending on the PocketPOS unit the merchant is using.
These systems are always good in theory, so I wanted to find out from people who have been using the PocketPOS device about their experience in the real world.
I spoke to Dr Monika Stransky, who is a homoeopath and iridologist and has been using the PocketPOS for about two months.
Even though Stransky operates from a single location, she did not want a credit card machine that uses her telephone line, as this is how clients phone to book appointments. She says the reaction of her clients has been "amazing".
"Clients are very happy that they can make the payment on the spot and no longer have to remember to make the EFT payment, which they sometimes tend to forget."
The system has also saved her time and aggravation. "Now I don't have to sit at the end of the month and work out who has not paid their bill and start to chase them. Clients pay, the machine prints out a receipt and they can submit it to medical aid - it is perfect!"
Frank Gouveia and Shaun Rooney from Simply Wild, a small business that sells sauces, have also found the perfect fit in the PocketPOS.
"Our business is such that we sell our sauces at shows and exhibitions. These could be located anywhere and we are never guaranteed to have power or a telephone line. The PocketPOS is ideal. It uses the phone and our customers are able to pay with both credit cards and debit cards," remarks Gouveia.
The system allows them to have both their iPad and the iPhone connected to the same device: "Which is great when there is a large crowd waiting to purchase."
Gouveia said previously they used to hire credit card machines; however, these were pricy, and having a traditional credit card machine was a waste as most of the time it sat in the office because the shows are typically on a weekend.
Nedbank has made the pricing of the PocketPOS affordable for these kinds of businesses specifically.
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The PocketPOS is able to last for around five days on a single charge, and the merchant should be able to achieve over 200 transactions. Currently, the PocketPOS app is able run on iOS platforms such as iPhone, iPad and iPad Minis, and there are plans to expand this to other operating systems.
To sign up and for more info on PocketPOS, click here.
It's no secret that businesses are going through a rough time at the moment. The economy is doing strange things, petrol prices are climbing and falling and climbing again like a roller coast, and customers are changing service providers at the drop of a hat to save a rand or two.
Businesses now need all the help they can get, and while many large organisations are doing their bit to assist the small man/woman business, I have noticed that Nedbank has been very active in this regard, and has been doing so for many years.
Nedbank continues to support large and small businesses through various interventions, including the Small Business Friday initiative, which is aimed at rallying South Africa to buy from small businesses. Nedbank also hosts free Small Business Seminars, which is now in its ninth year, and has provided training and practical advice to over 20 000 small business owners since 2004.
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