Capitec has teamed up with Ozow, a payment solution provider, to launch a new payment solution that has the potential to revolutionise the banking industry in South Africa. With nearly one in four South Africans currently unbanked, there is an urgent need for more inclusive financial services. By integrating Ozow’s platform with Capitec Pay through South Africa’s first proprietary open banking-payments API, underserved consumers and businesses will have access to a simpler and more accessible payment solution.
Open banking allows third-party developers to create applications and services around financial institutions, providing safer and easier payment methods while broadening accessibility. By integrating Capitec Pay with Ozow, the latter is positioning itself as a leader in the push for open APIs with banks in South Africa.
According to Mastercard’s latest annual New Payment Index, 97% of South African consumers plan to use a digital payment method in the next year. Capitec Pay offers a simple and fast user experience that aims to deliver benefits to merchants in terms of guaranteed settlements, automated reconciliation, and improved uptime thanks to bank-side monitoring.
Capitec Pay will be integrated into Ozow’s Pay by Bank offering, which is a simple, secure, and easy payment solution that allows customers to pay directly from their bank to the merchant without the need for a bank or credit card. With Pay by Bank, funds will be transferred directly from the customer’s personal bank account to the merchant account as soon as the authentication of a transaction is complete. This significantly reduces payment operations costs, the incidence of fraud, and processing times.
The Capitec Pay system allows clients to identify themselves with their mobile phone number or ID number, rather than the username and password combination that has been the primary method for users to access their bank accounts. The final payment is approved in a pop-up confirmation message in the app, providing added security to customers. Consumers can also revoke consent and opt out at will, at any time.
According to Jerome Passmore, Head of Capitec Pay, the partnership between Ozow and Capitec is poised to revolutionise the way South Africans transact and engage with their finances. Passmore believes that using Capitec Pay, clients can feel safe shopping online by simply approving transactions within the Capitec banking app.
The partnership between Ozow and Capitec represents a more secure, accessible payment option for customers and demonstrates a commitment to democratising Africa’s emerging neobank landscape. Pays encourages other banking institutions to join the digital revolution and embrace the future of payments. These partnerships are a significant step towards achieving greater financial inclusion in South Africa.
