Dual-listed Net1 UEPS Technologies has signed up a million cardholders in Iraq and has received additional orders.
The South African company implemented its payment systems in the country in August 2008, and signed up its millionth beneficiary earlier this month.
Net1's universal electronic payment system (UEPS) is used for the distribution and payment of government grants to war victims, government pension payments to beneficiaries, salary and wage distribution, and payments to employees of the two state banks.
The company operates in Iraq through its subsidiary, Net1 Universal Electronic Technological Solutions (NUETS), which focuses on Africa and the Middle East.
NUETS has now received additional orders for 800 000 UEPS-enabled smart cards and 1 500 point-of-sale devices, which will be delivered during the rest of the financial year.
Adding to the base
She explains that the new point-of-sale devices will offer the company's full suite of “bankless banking” products. “They will also assist to significantly shorten the queues that are currently being encountered during payment cycles in the branch network of the two state banks.”
Chairman and CEO Serge Belamant added that the “growth in the number of cards issued should proportionally increase the recurring revenues we receive from Iraq”.
In addition, the company is in the early stages of creating a broad-based electronic transaction processing platform. This will create broader access to additional formal financial services for the citizens of Iraq, Belamant says.
Net1 provides UEPS as an alternative payment system for the unbanked and under-banked populations of developing economies.
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