Voucher payments have become the preferred payment method for millions of banked and underbanked South Africans. Significant strides are being made to bridge the financial gap in sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2011, bank account ownership has more than doubled.
Today, 49 percent of adults in this region own a bank account. However, individual African economies clearly show that mobile money account adoption, the main driver of this growth, is not an all-inclusive solution.
“Despite South Africa’s fairly high bank account penetration, almost 4 million South Africans remain underbanked and unbanked,” explains Lani van der Merwe, Payment Network Manager at Pay@. “Simultaneously, the rapid increase in cybercrime in the country underscores the critical need for more secure transaction solutions to welcome South Africa’s financially excluded into the digital economy.”
Made possible by increasing access to smartphones and mobile-first solutions, voucher payments have become a preferred solution for both cash and digital consumers. “Voucher payments are a strategic enabler of financial inclusion while safeguarding consumers’ finances,” says van der Merwe. “As a flexible alternative for the underbanked, risk-averse, and privacy-conscious consumer, vouchers are a proven solution for South Africans across income brackets and geographies.”
The Pay@-OTT Voucher partnership
Due to the growing demand for a solution that supports financial empowerment and access to the digital economy, Pay@ recently partnered with OTT Voucher, a secure, cardless digital cash platform that converts cash into a single-use digital code for online payments. By bridging the gap between cash and digital, OTT Vouchers enable consumers to transact online safely, instantly and without needing a bank account or card details.
This collaboration will enhance customers’ payment options by integrating secure and convenient bill payments with OTT Vouchers. This payment method broadens businesses’ customer base by accessing a much larger cash-based market segment, improving payment collection rates. In essence, customers will have simplified payment experiences and businesses will have a more robust and inclusive payment channel.
“At OTT, we believe financial inclusion starts with giving people choice. By acting as a financial pathway between cash and the digital economy, voucher payments enable participation in e-commerce and bill payments while mitigating fraud and card-related risks, which is a growing concern in the South African market,” explains Clare Parker, Head of Marketing at OTT. “The momentous uptake we’ve seen as a result of this partnership clearly reflects that the demand is real and growing.”
This beneficial growth is not only customer-related but expands to other financial and business partners in the ecosystem, such as banks, billers and municipal services. OTT Vouchers are available nationwide through formal and informal retail points, spanning major chains such as Shoprite, Pick n Pay and Boxer, as well as leading banking apps. With distribution as widespread as prepaid airtime, customers can buy an OTT Voucher wherever they already shop, bank and refuel.
“Since launching the offering in August, Pay@ has seen steady uptake of OTT Voucher payments, with thousands of monthly voucher transactions being made,” mentions van der Merwe.
Pay@’s partnership with OTT Vouchers builds on its existing voucher payment offering, established with 1Voucher. Sold at major retailers and spaza shops, 1Voucher has been one of the main drivers of transforming the South African market with voucher payments. These partnerships, combined with consumers’ adoption rates, speak to vouchers becoming an important part of the bigger fintech ecosystem as a smart, secure transaction choice of the future.
