Photo by: Bloomberg
Gemalto has deployed prepaid Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) banking cards to complement and extend the reach of Vodacom’s m-pesa mobile wallet service in South Africa.
The card linked to m-pesa accounts, enabling users to make payments for goods and services without the need to carry cash.
The pin-protected m-pesa card, which was available from 8 000 Vodacom agents, was certified by major international payment schemes and accepted at 240 000 EMV-compliant payment terminals and over 27 000 ATMs.
Users could check their account balances through the mobile wallet app and receive SMS alerts when funds were low.
This came as Vodacom attempted to revive its m-pesa product offering in South Africa.
“By expanding our m-pesa mobile wallet offering with the banking card, we have been able to add an entirely new level of functionality, which we think is critical to the success of m-pesa in South Africa,” Vodacom m-commerce managing executive Herman Singh said.