Integrated consumer and business services company Hello Group’s merchant terminal service Hello Pay, which provides small businesses and spaza shops with digital payment access, has embedded business insurance and emergency response services offered by tech entrepreneur Aura as a free offering to its 18 000 customers on the Hello Pay Premium Service. 

An estimated 200 000 spaza shops and many more small businesses across South Africa, most of which are situated in townships and informal settlements, could benefit from these services.

Aura’s platform enables users to activate panic buttons during an emergency. The service links them to immediate on the ground emergency services to keep them and their customers safe.

When the panic button is pressed, security and medical response, from vetted security and medical responders that Aura has recruited onto its platform, are immediately deployed. The system is linked to 6 500 armed response vehicles and the closest responder accepts the call, responding to the user.

“Hello Pay is our merchant terminal business, which allows small businesses and spazas to collect payments digitally. Besides the obvious security provided by digitising payments, as opposed to cash, we also understand that the personal safety of small business operators is critical to ensuring their success. That is why we decided to embed Aura’s armed response panic service and a basic business insurance cover, to keep our customers safe from both physical and economic harm,” says Hello Group CEO Moosa Manjra.

He says the objective was to ensure that if Hello customers feel unsafe or face a threat towards their business they can press the button and recieve assistance within minutes. They would also be shielded from any riots or looting events through the embedded business cover from Hello Pay, which includes South African Special Risk Insurance Association insurance for riots, strikes, unrest and similar events.

“Aura has democratised access to emergency response services, making it more affordable, efficient and accessible than ever before. We are determined to make these services available across every township and informal settlement across the country. We provide super quick response times, quicker than most police calls globally, with an average response time of about eight minutes currently for emergency security and medical services,” says Aura founder Warren Myers. 

Hello Pay originally only provided the service to its clients that opted in, but it is now rolling it out as an embedded service to all customers with a Hello Pay device. 

The Hello Group believes that keeping small business owners safe has a compound effect on the economy, as well as the overall well-being of communities, as security concerns often make it difficult to operate businesses and inhibit a commercially-viable flow of customers. 

“This partnership is highly impactful, both socially and commercially, in that it solves a significant challenge within the township economy, and also works to unlock the entrepreneurial potential within those areas, thereby supporting economic growth and resilience,” tech entrepreneur catalyser and business incubator Endeavor SA CEO Alison Collier says.

She notes that the primary aim at Endeavor SA is to support companies that use technology to provide affordable solutions to on-the-ground problems in townships and areas with limited resources.

“Companies like Hello Pay and Aura are managing to do this commercially, backed by private capital, to positively impact thousands of lives,” Collier said.