Ukash introduces online cash payments to South Africa, a
country where 40% of the population is unbanked and where internet
usage is booming
E-commerce payment provider Smart Voucher Ltd, trading as Ukash,
has become the first to offer online cash payment solutions in
South Africa, allowing e-retailers to market to the country's large
cash consumer base for the first time.
UK-based Ukash, in partnership with strategic partner Blue Label
Telecoms, enables consumers who do not own a card or are unwilling
to use it on the Internet, to purchase from online merchants
without revealing sensitive bank details using prepaid
vouchers.
"We saw a great opportunity in South Africa," says Mark
Chirnside, CEO of Ukash. "There are currently no precedents in the
market and this opens the door to online shopping for so many South
Africans."
Acording to a 2007 survey conducted by Finscope, 40% of South
Africans are unbanked. "This has limited them from participating in
the digital revolution and transacting online," says Chirnside. "It
has also stopped online merchants from marketing to this segment,
thus increasing the gap."
As from 17 November, 2008, Ukash vouchers can already be spent
at a number of top online retailers, including wantitall.co.za, the
face of Amazon in the country; social networking and music sites
and the company is looking to expand the list extensively in the
coming months.
Consumers will be able to purchase Ukash vouchers from a wide
selection of terminals within the network of Blue Label Telecoms
distribution channels. Blue Label is a leading distributor of
prepaid secure electronic tokens of value transactional services
and has successfully built a global distribution network of 200,000
touch points within emerging markets such as South Africa and
currently working on bringing payment solutions to other emerging
markets such as India.
"Smart Voucher Ltd. has a long history of expansion into new
territories both with the Ukash brand as well as with our
proprietary technology and white labelling services. The reception
by merchants has been fantastic and we have very high expectations
of what we can deliver to the South African market" says
Chirnside.