MasterCard and Virtual Card Services launch vPOS – South Africa’s first virtual payment solution

Small enterprises and mobile businesses can now accept in-store digital card payments on the go using cellphone devices, following the launch of Virtual Card Service’s virtual Point of Sale (vPOS), South Africa’s first virtual payment solution.

The vPOS provides a safe, convenient and easy way for merchants to be paid using their own connected cellphone as a point of sale (POS) device, while consumers can pay for goods and services using MasterPass, a digital wallet.

“We designed the vPOS to meet the needs of merchants who do business ‘on the move’ and need to accept card payments wherever they are conducting business,” said Wouter Uitzinger, chief operating officer at Virtual Card Services (VCS).

“We see enormous potential for the solution in South Africa, especially with the large number of informal traders and the growing population of Smartphone users.”

To sign up for a vPOS, merchants simply apply for an affordable merchant facility directly from Virtual Card Services, after which they download the vPOS app from their android or Apple store and authenticate their credentials.

Consumers just need to download the MasterPass app from their app store, register and load their credit, debit or cheque cards from any bank into the digital wallet.

“Mobile technologies have emerged as a powerful tool for shop owners and mobile businesses to accept digital payments,” said Anton van der Merwe, head of market development for MasterCard, South Africa.

“As a fast, easy and inexpensive POS device that can be used literally anywhere, the vPOS has the potential to open up new revenue channels for merchants and enable them to meet the demands of today’s connected shopper.”

With the vPOS, merchants can increase revenue by accepting digital card payments and reduce their exposure to the risks and costs of managing cash. Payment is immediate and is guaranteed. VCS also reconciles payment and Value Added Tax to offer even more efficiency and time-savings to the merchant and is more affordable than traditional POS or mobile POS devices.

For consumers, MasterPass offers a simple, convenient, trusted digital platform that provides a fast, safe shopping experience.

Unlike many other similar solutions, each MasterPass transaction is classified as an Authenticated Mobile Transaction by South African banks, ensuring that consumers enjoy the highest protection from fraudsters.

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