Absa ready to issue contactless payment cards
11 July, 2011
category: Contactless
Absa, the largest consumer bank in South Africa, has concluded a nine-month pilot of contactless payment technology and says it will soon roll out contactless tap-and-go cards to customers, according to ITWeb.
Absa’s cards will be available as prepaid or debit, and can be used to tap and pay for goods at retailers as well as at transit kiosks and in taxis.
According to ITWeb, each contactless transaction will be limited to R200 (about $30) or less, and a user can load a maximum of R1,500 ($220) on the card with a total monthly transaction limit of R3,000 ($440).
Absa says that the payments infrastructure will also support contactless mobile payments in the near future.
“There are huge opportunities for NFC technology in South Africa,” Geraldine Mitchley, manager at Beyond Payments, told ITWeb. “Soon, NFC will enable people to pay for their TV licenses, airtime and electricity bills, and manage their cash via their mobile phones.”
Read more here.