Kazang, a prepaid value-added services (VAS) and card-acquiring business, has launched a new card acceptance solution in Zambia, making it more affordable for merchants to accept card payments.
Through the launch of the new solution dubbed ‘Kazang Pay’, Kazang, Zambia’s largest VAS point-of-sale terminal provider, enables merchants to accept VISA debit and credit cards as well as mobile wallet payments on the same terminal they use to sell prepaid products and services. The firm says that all payments are settled to the merchant’s Kazang wallet on the same day.
Kazang currently operates around 12,000 VAS terminals in Zambia. Its goal is to enable the majority to accept card payments over the next six months.
Benefits to merchants include low transaction fees and no monthly terminal rental fee for those that meet a modest monthly transaction threshold as well as the opportunity to grow their business through card acceptance.
Leon de Wit, managing director at Kazang Zambia, said: “Zambia has made enormous strides in terms of financial inclusion, with card usage and penetration growing at a rapid pace. With Kazang Pay, merchants can now easily accept card payments on the same all-in-one terminal they already use for vending VAS products.
“Card transactions help merchants to grow basket sizes and potentially attract more customers, and at the same time, reduce the risks and costs of handling cash. Moving towards digitalised payments will also enable merchants to track sales, manage cash flow, and create a footprint that could make it easier for them to access loans.”
Payments progress in Southern Africa
The launch of Kazang Pay in Zambia follows the introduction of the solution in South Africa, where around 60,000 small and micro merchants use it to accept card payments.
In Zambia, there are around 3.8 million debit, credit and ATM cards in issue and 41,000 point of sale (POS) terminals in place. The value of POS transactions has grown to K111.4billion by 2022 from less than K20billion in 2018, according to the Bank of Zambia.
Ashley Naidoo, director of Kazang Pay in South Africa, adds: “Our Zambian merchants have eagerly embraced our card-acquiring service as a valuable part of our one-stop solution. Following the launch of Kazang Pay in Zambia, we have seen higher VAS sales across our merchant base and much-improved merchant retention and with our card acquiring solution we now appeal to a broader merchant base.”
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