Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. announced that its Net1 Mobile Solutions (“N1MS”) business unit has launched a mobile-based payment solution, branded Shmart!Pay Mobile Card, in India together with its partner, TranServ Private Limited (“TranServ”). This mobile-based payment solution is the first of its kind in India and intends to address the growing need to pay securely for e-commerce transactions in that country.
Shmart!Pay Mobile Card utilizes N1MS’ Mobile Virtual Card (“MVC”) technology, and offers a new, simple and completely secure way to pay online by generating a one-time use virtual VISA prepaid card on a mobile handset. A consumer simply has to download the ‘Shmart!Pay’ App, register online by completing an account opening form and fund their MVC Prepaid Card account. Users will then be able to generate virtual VISA prepaid cards offline i.e. without access to a web or mobile network, and at any time on their mobile device, and present it at any online merchant who accepts VISA.
“N1MS is pleased to introduce our MVC technology in India after having successfully rolled it out in the United States, South Africa and Spain,” says Philip Belamant, Managing Director of N1MS. “We have a strong partner in TranServ, and together we can change the landscape for how consumers in this rapidly developing market can securely pay for e-commerce transactions.”
According to an e-Tailing India study, e-commerce in India is expected to grow to over $30 billion by 2016 from $13 billion currently, with online retail driving majority of the growth. As internet users in India expand to 400 million in 2016 from 240 million today, driven in large part by the proliferation of low-cost smart phones, the need to make payments online in a simple and secure manner will also increase substantially. Additionally, a significant proportion of Indians, particularly the youth, do not have access to a physical card to conduct online transactions.
Until now, the majority of online payments in India have been completed using credit cards, which are available to less than 2% of the population, or by cash-on-delivery. For online payments, virtual cards rather than plastic cards are more likely to be used in the future because they are more secure. With the introduction of Shmart!Pay Mobile Cards, N1MS and TranServ now offer consumers a simplified way to generate virtual cards offline from their mobile phones.
Like other MVC technologies launched by N1MS, the ‘Shmart!Pay’ App MVC generation process occurs offline and does not disclose any personal financial information, while providing increased privacy, protection from identity theft, as well as an online payment option for those who do not have access to a physical plastic card. Net1’s one-time use virtual card is created for a specific amount, thereby making online transacting even more secure. Once the card is authorised, it expires and cannot be used again.
Shmart!Pay Mobile Card is offered as a prepaid solution where a customer can set up an Axis Bank Prepaid Card account and funds the account either in cash, at select agent locations, or electronically, from another bank account. The user can then generate a one-time-use virtual VISA prepaid card for each transaction up to the balance available in their prepaid account.
