Acquirer Systems, a leading provider of test and validation solutions to the international payments market, has launched its EMV Training Programme at a breakfast briefing in Johannesburg, South Africa. The launch is taking place in the presence of Ireland’s Ambassador to South Africa, His Excellency Brendan McMahon and Irish Minister for Trade and Employment Joe Costello.
The international payment ecosystem is changing at a rapid pace. Consumers are demanding more choice and the industry is deregulating to produce more competition. This dramatic change is further supported by the advent of the EMV smart card standard. The result for payments firms is that there is now a much greater variety of products to deliver and support, along with the associated challenges of in-field interoperability. Payments firms, including those in South Africa, need to adapt to continue to build and deploy successful payment products and services. They must reimagine and reengineer their supporting organisational models and business processes to thrive in this new payments economy. Rapid test and validation capability, such as that provided by Acquirer Systems, is key to delivering secure and customer-centric solutions at the pace and quality expected by today’s customers.
Acquirer Systems’ ASTREX is now used in South Africa by almost all of the leading Issuing and Acquiring banks and payment processors including ABSA, FNB, Capitec, Nedbank, Standard Bank, Bankserv, Net1, and Diners. The new Acquirer Systems training programme is designed to enhance the South African payment industry’s test and validation capability. Its aims are:
- To build the skills of the test and validation community in South Africa to meet the challenges of the changing payments world
- To provide a formal structure to up-skill customers in their use of the ASTREX platform for new product development
- To expand the level of EMV knowledge across the customer base in South Africa.
“Acquirer Systems’ ASTREX platform is fast becoming the de facto standard Test and Validation software suite for South African payments providers. We have a proud record in this market since our entry in 2010, and this further affirms our commitment to help to transform the South African payments ecosystem.” says Fergal Molloy CEO Acquirer Systems.
“By bringing the key players together and expanding their use of the ASTREX platform, through knowledge and cooperation, synergies and efficiencies will be found enabling acceleration of each players own distinct competitive advantages. That is why we have launched these training programs for our customer base here in South Africa.”
