Kazang has announced the launch of its Kazang Pay card acceptance solution for Zambian merchants. The prepaid value-added services (VAS) and card acquiring business under JSE-listed fintech Lesaka Technologies aims to make it affordable for merchants to accept card payments using the same Kazang terminal they use for selling prepaid products and services.
The launch of Kazang Pay in Zambia comes on the heels of the introduction of the solution in South Africa, where around 60,000 small and micro merchants use Kazang Pay to accept card payments.
The Kazang Pay-enabled terminal in Zambia accepts VISA debit and credit cards, along with mobile wallet payments. Transactions conducted in any of these cards are settled to the merchant’s Kazang wallet on the same day. It is as easy as letting the customer tap or insert their bank card and enter their PIN on the secure scramble PIN pad.
With about 3.8 million debit, credit and ATM cards reportedly in circulation alongside 41,000 point-of-sale (PoS) terminals operating in Zambia, Leon de Wit, managing director at Kazang Zambia, stated that the country has made significant progress in financial inclusion, with a rapid increase in card usage and penetration.
“Zambia has made enormous strides in terms of financial inclusion, with card usage and penetration growing at a rapid pace. With Kazang Pay, merchants can now easily accept card payments on the same all-in-one terminal they already use for vending of VAS products.
“Card transactions help merchants to grow basket sizes and potentially attract more customers, and at the same time, reduce the risks and costs of handling cash. Moving towards digitalised payments will also enable merchants to track sales, manage cash flow, and create a footprint that could make it easier for them to access loans.”
Ashley Naidoo, director of Kazang Pay in South Africa says: “Our Zambian merchants have eagerly embraced our card acquiring service as a valuable part of our one-stop solution. Following the launch of Kazang Pay in Zambia, we have seen higher VAS sales across our merchant base and much-improved merchant retention and with our card acquiring solution we now appeal to a broader merchant base.”
Kazang boasts of being Zambia’s largest VAS point-of-sale terminal provider, enabling mobile money payments, bank and mobile money cash in and out, bill payments, airtime, Zesco, and many other prepaid services on one platform. The addition of card acceptance makes the platform even more comprehensive for merchants and consumers alike.
With a network of around 90,000 active devices, the fintech processes approximately 2.2 million transactions daily in markets such as South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia. The value of POS transactions has grown to K 111.4 billion by 2022 from less than K 20 billion in 2018, according to the Bank of Zambia.
Kazang operates around 12,000 VAS terminals in Zambia. The goal is to enable the majority to accept card payments over the next six months. Benefits to merchants include low transaction fees and no monthly terminal rental fee for those that meet a modest monthly transaction threshold as well as the opportunity to grow their business through card acceptance.
