Absa Bank Seychelles has launched a new digital payment solution service for merchants called the Mobi-Tap app, which will enable them to process contactless card transactions with a smartphone without needing a Point of Sale (POS) machine.

In a press conference on Tuesday, the managing director for Absa Bank Seychelles, Mazim Mahmood, said this service would be especially beneficial for small business owners.

"Normal people who have normal small businesses can now go digital. You could be a vendor at the beach who's selling bikinis, sarongs and hats you can now accept payment on credit cards. A lot of these payments were not coming through because the smaller vendors were not able to pick up a POS machine which costs around $400 to $500, it was expensive. Now with this solution, we are able to tap into that market," he said.

Mahmood added that Absa Bank has been working on solutions to make banking efficient and digital. There is a wallet service they launched earlier this year as well as payment through QR codes.

The retail director, Murugan Pillay, said that they did several months of testing before the official launch and they found that the merchants who were using it have had positive reactions.

Pillay confirmed that to register for this service, merchants must be business customers of Absa Bank Seychelles and possess a merchant ID and account with the bank. He clarified that this is an extra layer of security to ensure that all users of this service are legitimate.

"We listened to our customers. They told us that POS machines are inconvenient to travel with, especially during events," he added.

Pillay explained that as of now the service is only available on Android phones and for local currency, however, there will be a second phase in the next couple of months to add foreign currency as well.

He added that in order to encourage merchants to join this digital service, which he described as a fully green solution, Absa Bank has reduced the processing fee for the transactions from 3 per cent to 2 per cent. This is an introductory offer and that all merchants usually pay for each transaction through a POS.

Seychelles joins five other African markets, Botswana, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, where Absa has introduced this pioneering technology.

During the event, Absa Bank presented a cheque for SCR 200,000 ($15,000) to the second winner of their card usage campaign, which was awarded each month from July 1 to 30 September. 

To qualify, customers needed to use their Absa Debit or Credit Card 10 times or more within the month, which then automatically entered them into the monthly draw.

Olivia Johnson, the lucky winner this time, said, "I was so surprised when I received the call that I had one. I usually just use my card whenever I need to pay for services or I use internet banking. This is a shock for me, I could barely believe it."