Ever had to call a plumber out, only to discover that he only takes cash, which you don’t happen to have on hand? Now here’s a solution for all businesses that will put an end to the last minute dash to the ATM.
Barclays subsidiary, Absa is piloting its Payment Pebble, a mobile point of sale innovation, that aims to transform the payment acceptance industry.
The Payment Pebble is a small portable device that plugs into smartphones or tablets and enables small and medium scale enterprises to accept payments from debit and credit cards.
It’s the first portable payment system of its kind that does not rely on Bluetooth, making the payment process simpler and more secure.
A home-grown invention
The Payment Pebble is a world-first South African innovation, conceptualised, created, developed and manufactured locally.
Arrie Rautenbach, Absa head of Retail Banking, says: “Building this product is an incredible testament to the work between Absa and thumbzup; aligning to the Absa vision of supporting local entrepreneurial spirit while creating a solution that answers to the daily needs of our customers.
“The partnership brings with it the added benefits of socio-economic uplift through the creation of local employment, rapid innovation turnaround with the end result of a product customised with local support and a real understanding of local requirements.
“We are not simply reselling a product made abroad, but creating a partnership for the future built on South African innovation and invention.”
Plug and play technology
thumbzup CEO and founder, Stafford Masie explained the benefit of the direct connection to a mobile phone through an audio jack. “You can pull our Payment Pebble out of the box and simply plug it in and it works with smartphones or tablets which support the mobile application. It does not use Bluetooth which is known to be erratic and technically arcane to reliably configure.”
Rautenbach added, “The new PIN entry invention improves on traditional methods for PIN entry. This locally invented PIN entry solution reduces costs and offers businesses a more cost effective method for card payments.”
Level 1 security certification
Security is paramount to any payment processing solution. The Payment Pebble is the first South African MPos solution to be announced certified for Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) Level 1 type approval.
By dispersing with the need to a keypad for PIN entry the cost of production for the Payment Pebble been greatly reduced thereby rendering it affordable for the mass market.