First National Bank is in final talks with UK-based mPowa, a rival to American firm Square, about using the payments company’s technology to give its clients the ability to accept card payments using mobile phones.
mPowa offers a white-label solution that supports multiple mobile operating systems, including Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone.
TechCrunch reports that although the terms of the deal haven’t been made public, its value is said to be in the multimillion-pound range.
Barrett Whiteford, head of marketing at FNB Business, confirms that the bank has been in talks with mPowa about bringing its products to SA but adds that the deal is still bring structured and the bank is still “putting all the paperwork together”.
Because mPowa’s offering is white labeled, FNB will no doubt attach its own branding to the product.
“We want to integrate it into our existing platforms as is our way,” says Whiteford. “FNB is already strong in the digital and mobile space and we want to offer the same safety and security to our customers as our other products provide.”
mPowa promotional video (via Vimeo):
Solutions such as those development by mPowa and Square have proved popular in international markets, particularly with smaller retailers and individuals selling goods and who do not generate enough income from card payments to warrant the cost of a dedicated card terminal, which can incur sizeable fees.
FNB is unable to say when the product will be available in SA, adding that it prefers to release information when it is ready to go to market. — (c) 2012 NewsCentral Media
