SURESWIPE Safe Cashless Virtual Vouchers to help Revive Retailers

SURESWIPE

and its clients are important, and Kent is clear that the company demonstrates total transparency. Sureswipe even offered major discounts in April to assist customers as much as possible.

“The bulk of our fees are related to transactions so if no money is moving there is no fee,” he says. “The rest of the cost is based on fixed costs such as the rental of the actual devices. We have worked in help such as a 50% fixed fee discount during the month of April. We have been very open and transparent about fees and conditions. We deal with each contract on a case by case basis and we encourage our customers to come to us to talk about fees and payment terms.”

OPENING UP

On August 15, President Ramaphosa announced that the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak had passed and moved the country to a ‘Level 2’ lockdown. This meant the majority of retailers could reopen but with restrictions such as the need for the

pubic to wear face coverings. He stated that the country remained in a State of Disaster until 15 September and constant vigilance remains necessary. For businesses, reopening of the economy is much welcomed news but has been met with caution.

“We are planning for all scenarios, including increasing death and infection rates and moves back into stricter lockdown, and we are hoping that they never materialise,” admits Kent.

“We have to plan for all different scenarios or we will not be able to react quick enough. We look at the worst-case, middle road and bestcase scenario, and these change every couple of weeks. We certainly cannot just sit and wait. We are putting forecasts together and we are planning around these. We will only act when data and information is available. We want to buy time so that we don’t have to make rash decisions.”

With all companies, not just Sureswipe customers, the ability to accept previously purchased vouchers, while also selling vouchers for the future is a confidence booster. The knowledge that cash can continue to flow even if further closures are necessary gives hope to even the smallest of retailers.

“Typically, a project like the virtual vouchers would take months to put together but we did it in six weeks. It’s about creating opportunities and being innovative during this period,” says Kent.

While the environment is tough, Sureswipe looks set to ride out the storm and help its clients to thrive in the future. Innovation, positivity and an unrelenting desire to deliver quality customer service, no matter the circumstances are helping this bright tech business to blossom after a period that has no comparison.

WWW.SURESWIPE.CO.ZA

ABOUT FINANCIAL SOFTWARE AND SYSTEMS PVT AND FSS TECHNOLOGIES SA (PTY) LTD

Financial Software and Systems (FSS) is a leader in payments technology and transaction processing, offering a diversified portfolio of software products as well as hosted payment and software services built over 29 years of comprehensive experience across the payments spectrum. FSS, through its innovative products and services, caters to the wholesale and retail payments initiatives of leading banks, financial institutions, processors, merchants, governments and regulatory bodies. Its end-to-end payments suite powers retail delivery channels such as ATM, POS, Internet, Mobile and Financial Inclusion as well as critical back-end functions such as cards management, reconciliation, settlement, merchant management and device monitoring. Headquartered in Chennai, India, the company services 100+ customers across the globe, which include leading public and private sector banks in India and some of the large Banks, FI’s, Processors and Prepaid Card issuers across North America, UK/Europe, ME/Africa and APAC. FSS has a team of over 2500 experts serving these clients. FSS Technologies SA (Pty) Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Software and Systems (Pvt)

WHAT FSS DOES FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN POST OFFICE

Choosing the right technology partner for managing grant disbursements was extremely strategic and a matter of national importance given the impact of the social grants program on millions of South Africans. In addition to technology-related competence, SAPO needed to be assured of the vendor’s viability in terms of financial stability, quality of support, alliances and partnerships and management performance.

SAPO selected FSS ahead of several national and international vendors because FSS fulfilled its criteria on all fronts. FSS submitted a proposal that reflected its experience as a large-scale payment processor and a seasoned partner committed to long-term success of the project throughout the contracting process.

The choice of FSS as a technology partner was determined by: • Three decades of leadership in the payment’s domain, assuring long-term project sustainability. • Demonstrable and extensive experience in implementing similar large-scale greenfield as well as replacement projects in a time-bound manner. • Its status as a Globally respected organization -- Issuance of over 750 Million cards globally across 25+ large banks. • Local presence in South Africa with on-the-ground experienced payments personnel for support and project delivery. • Rich system functionality and superior architectural design.

The FSS Integrated Grant Payment System (IGPS) is a complete solution that addresses all aspects of the grant account lifecycle from application processing, account management and card issuance through renewal or account closure. The system supports customer registration with KYC and FICA documentation, integrates with biometric systems for verification, maintains beneficiary account information, manages the lifecycle of the beneficiary account as well as administration and reporting.

serving clients on the African Continent from its offices in Rosebank, Johannesburg. The Africa team is headed by The Regional General Manager: Africa, Rishi Pillay who together with his dedicated team of seasoned Payments and Banking services specialists, have decades of experience in these sectors. In addition to the South African Regional Office, the Africa team comprises representation and offices in East Africa (Nairobi) Central Africa (Brazzaville) and West Africa (Douala) FSS services a number of major Banking clientele across the continent and is growing exponentially due to these relationships as well as a number of significant strategic Acquisitions and Alliances which have recently been concluded. A prime example of FSS matching its Products, Services and Expertise to a stated Requirement, is the South African Post Office - Integrated Grants Payments System or IGPS Project. After a rigorous and thorough Tender process, the dynamic and progressive team at the South Africa Post Office identified FSS as the ideal Vendor to partner with for this project of National importance.

THE DELIVERY AND IMPACT

FSS implementation expertise gained from large-scale projects for Central regulators and Tier One banks helped SAPO successfully rollout the service within a record setting five weeks. As per its requirements and agreements, SAPO commenced the issuance of the new SASSA card on 1st April 2018. without any disruption. This has helped significantly in rebuilding beneficiary trust and faith in the service. To date, SAPO and SASSA have enrolled more than 8 million beneficiaries on the new system.

SIGNIFICANT COST REDUCTIONS

The Integrated Grant Payment System combining the Card Management and the Lightweight CBS modules helped SAPO offload traffic from the Core Banking System. This resulted in significant savings monthly, enabling the agency to spend its budget allocation more effectively in the future, making a meaningful difference in the lives of beneficiaries

OPTIMIZED DEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES

FSS via its long-term partnership is successfully helping SAPO improve the efficiency of the Grants program. The successful launch of the service has helped the government to reestablish trust in the program. More importantly it is enabling the underbanked to move up the financial ladder and reduce usage of cash.