ACCESS Progressive web application Ozapp enables any customer with a bank account or eWallet to transact without a card through a QR-code enabled payment
Digital payments company Ozow has launched a series of new payment platforms to simplify payments for consumers and merchants and enable greater financial and digital inclusion.
The ‘Ozow Revolution’ comprises a network of innovative payment solutions and products that are designed to decash the economy and remove barriers to the safety and convenience of digital payments.
Ozow’s payments innovations were traditionally only available to enterprise and small and medium-sized enterprise merchants; however, demand led the company to expand its services to sole proprietors and individuals.
While more than 80% of South Africans hold a bank account, only one out of every eight has a credit card, which, according to Ozow, locks the vast majority of consumers out of digital payments and excludes them from a huge range of services.
“Far too many consumers and businesses have been excluded from the benefits of the digital economy,” says Ozow CEO and cofounder Thomas Pays, noting that the new Ozow Revolution will see a healthy pipeline of new payment products being launched over the next few months.
The first step of the Ozow Revolution sees the company introducing two new online payments solutions to its platform for the South African market, namely Ozapp and Ozow PIN.
Progressive Web application Ozapp enables any customer with a bank account or eWallet to transact without a card through a QR-code-enabled payment.
The product does away with the need to install a dedicated native application on a smartphone, but mirrors the interactions traditionally made on phone applications.
“Despite smartphone penetration standing at more than 90%, many South Africans still rely on lower-cost models that lack the storage space needed for many mobile apps,” says Pays, adding that the use of the platform is zero-rated, enabling consumers to make payments anytime without using data.
Ozow PIN was also introduced to radically simplify electronic funds transfer (EFT) payments through an easy four-step payment process that can be completed in seconds and is particularly beneficial to merchants and ecommerce sites with large numbers of returning customers that make regular purchases.
“With the launch of Ozow PIN, we are revolutionising the payment experience with a new patent-pending simplified payment innovation that delivers a seamless customer experience without compromising on safety.
“By reducing the time needed to make EFT payments and removing friction in the transaction process, Ozow PIN can help grow transaction volumes while attracting new customers. It is a win-win for consumers and merchants,” he says.
Further, individuals and sole proprietors can now make use of Ozow as a payment provider free of charge for the first 12 months or receive up to R1-million free processing a month.
Ozow PIN will be developed into all 11 official languages by the end of the year.
“We are only just getting started with developing new innovations that enable more South Africans to enjoy the benefits of digital payments. As a business, we will continue to find ways to drive digital inclusion until every person on the African continent can make or receive safe, convenient digital payments,” Pays concludes.