New 'tap and pay' card to ease electronic payments

Are you one of those people who love shopping? Well your shopping experience will be made even more enjoyable by the new ‘tap and pay’ electronic payment system, where you can use electronic cards to pay for goods and services by tapping on point of sale (POS) devices. The technology, dubbed ‘Kozaho’, was launched by Airtel Rwanda last week. It is powered by Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and offers convenience and faster payment options for customers and merchants, the telecom firm said in a statement. “The ‘Kozaho’ card is based on NFC standard and has an Airtel Money account, which is linked to the customer’s mobile phone,” the statement indicates. Airtel customers will be able to ‘tap and effect’ payments with their ‘Kozaho’ cards at any POS terminal in a two-step process, it added. The use of the new card will pilot with transport services such as Kigali Bus Services (KBS), taxi-moto and commuter taxis, as well as supermarkets and shops in Kigali, the firm said. Commenting on the development, Airtel Rwanda managing director, Teddy Bhullar, said the ‘Kozaho’ card is one of the telecom company’s strategies to promote cashless payments in Rwanda. “We strongly believe merchant payments are the way to go in building strong ecosystems that support mobile financial services and give customers the convenience that comes with using the Airtel Money mobile wallet,” Bhullar said. Prior to the launch, AirClerk Limited, an e-payments firm, was the only firm offering ‘tap and pay’ card services on the KBS buses over the past year. There are about 30,000 cardholders in the market that bus commuters use to pay for their fares. Patrick Buchana, the AirClerk chief executive officer, noted that creating a cashless payment system in the transport sector is essential to improving the transport system. Buchana added that it will help create an ecosystem, where commuters can ably enjoy the other services related to paying using the cards. He added that the Kozaho card will supplement the already existing bus payment system and play a key role in enabling the cashless drive as well as easing payments in various places for commuters. ben.gasore@newtimes.co.rw

News

New 'tap and pay' card to ease electronic payments