Mobile payments and financial services company, Oltio has signed an agreement with Integrated Processing Solutions (IPS) - a transaction processing joint venture between Standard Bank and Absa - to give IPS the South African licensing rights to Oltio's mobile payment solution, payD.
The agreement will also see IPS getting the rights to payD's management of the system's hardware (back-end) and the rights to the payD customer database.
The payD solution allows consumers to pay for purchases on their mobile phones with their debit or credit cards and bank-issued PINs.
Oltio believes the licence arrangement will result in more companies and mobile and online merchants being able to access the payD technology which will, in turn, open the e-commerce and m-commerce doors even wider for South Africans from all walks of life.
Unveiled by Oltio in 2011, payD removes a significant obstacle to the mainstream adoption of e-commerce in SA by transforming a user's mobile phone into a remote point of sale device, using debit or credit cards for payments to be processed.
Historically, customers have not been able to make e-commerce payments using a debit card; with payD this is now possible, says Oltio.
Says Dave Parratt, Oltio's head of new business development: "The agreement is a significant milestone for us. It is an indication of the progress we have made with payD and brings a local partner on board that has an exemplary record for transactional processing in the financial services sector."
"This transaction not only provides us with the opportunity to increase our product offerings but also forms an integral part of our diversification strategy," says Hans Bodenstein, managing director of IPS.
Commenting about Oltio's future plans, CEO Terry Timson says there are significant expansion opportunities for the company.
"We have always maintained that our first priority would be to build a strong business in South Africa and then to look at expanding into the African continent and ultimately further afield. The agreement gives IPS the responsibility for the South African management and implementation of payD, allowing Oltio to be more focused on moving forward with its future plans."
Absa is committed to providing both merchants and consumers with easier ways to pay and accept payment," says Arrie Rautenbach, the bank's head of Retail Markets. "The extension of these services to our debit cardholders, through our investment in payD in IPS, means that these customers are now able to make this new type of mobile or online payment from the convenience of their own homes." adds Rautenbach.
Some of the companies that are already using payD include MasterCard, through its MasterCard Mobile payment platform; MTN Eazi Recharge, the pre-paid airtime top-up service with over 200 000 users; Vodacom's more recently introduced Express Recharge pre-paid airtime top-up service; and PayU, which currently processes 65% of all online payments in SA. payD's secure transaction authentication technology is also available to PIN-based VISA debit and credit cards issued by Standard Bank, Absa and Nedbank.
"An increased number of customers are shopping online and with payD, customers can make payments using any PIN based card. It is easy to use, is safe and benefits both cardholders and merchants. Standard Bank is committed to driving payment innovations and payD is good example of this. The agreement with IPS is a further step in the direction of making payD the standard for e-commerce payments in South Africa." says Sugendhree Reddy, head of personal markets at Standard Bank SA.
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