Among news stories that may have sneaked under the radar during the holiday season is an interesting partnership announced about a week ago between Vienna Payment Solutions/VIPASO and technology solutions provider Interswitch East Africa (Kenya) Limited.
The aim of the partnership is to enhance payment solutions for banks, hospitality industry players, on-the-go services, financial institutions and retailers.
Specifically, this alliance introduces VIPASO, a solution comprised of two distinct applications: a consumer app and a merchant app. The applications seamlessly operate between a consumer smartphone or feature phone and a merchant smartphone or feature phone. They can also operate between a consumer smartphone or feature phone and a merchant’s Android point of sale (POS) terminal.
The VIPASO solution utilises Bluetooth low energy connectivity and, say the partners, offers an alternative payment method for consumers in scenarios where traditional card or mobile phone payments are inconvenient or hindered by unreliable internet connectivity.
VIPASO, the partners say, marks a significant leap towards bridging gaps in the payment industry, setting a new standard for secure, convenient and inclusive financial transactions in the East African region.
Interswitch says its broad network and robust payments platform have already been instrumental to the development of the Nigerian payments ecosystem and helped to provide the company with the credibility to expand across Africa.
Vienna Payment Solutions, a fintech company based in Austria, aims to provide technologies and solutions for implementing mobile payment infrastructures.
Matthias Horvath, CEO at VIPASO/Vienna Payment Solutions, says: “We started VIPASO with a goal to make POS payments simple, reliable, safe and universal. The partnership with Interswitch marks significant progress towards achieving this goal.”
Naomi Wachira, Head of Technology at Interswitch East Africa (Kenya) Limited, adds: “The integration of the software development kit APIs signals a transformative shift away from manual input of merchant and customer details. This advancement not only eradicates the risks of errors but also paves the way for a swift and error-free process.”
