Ozow and Zapper partnership shows FinTech collaboration

Cash is over. If you aren’t going digital and contactless, you aren’t moving Mzansi’s rands. It’s this shift in behaviour – accelerated by the germaphobia of the global pandemic – that has been a major catalyst in South Africa’s fintech boom.

This has given rise to several payment providers, who all have one thing in common – to make it easier and more convenient for people to transact. Simply put, it’s about access to simple payment solutions… for everyone.

Fintechs have realised that the biggest impact and disruption comes from collaboration.

Ozow and Zapper came together in a partnership that leverages off each other’s strengths, infrastructure, and markets. The collaboration between the two industry giants will provide consumers with even more choice. Zapper users will now have the option to either pay directly from their bank account via instant EFT with Ozow or use their card.

“When two competing fintech join forces, the partnership can be much greater than any adversity,’ explains Thomas Pays, CEO and co-founder of Ozow. “This ultimately benefits the 47 million bank account holders in South Africa, all while driving financial and digital inclusion.”

“People often hear the term ‘financial inclusion’, but don’t really understand why this is so big for fintechs like us,” he continues. “At its core, it’s about giving consumers and businesses greater access and choice. This is especially true for many consumers, who have been locked out of these types of services because they don’t have a credit card.”

Both services have carved out their own niche in a crowded market. Ozow has solidified its position as one of the leading bank-to-bank payment providers in South Africa using banking rails. While Zapper has gained significant market share in offering QR code payments, especially in the retail and hospitality sectors where it services more than 70 000 merchants through its mobile app.

“The decision to partner with Ozow is part of our focused strategy to build out meaningful and lasting partnerships that benefit both our consumers and our merchants,” says Zapper CEO Brett White.

“Ozow is proving to be a popular payment choice for consumers in South Africa, and we want to provide our more than 800,000 registered consumers with as many payment options as we can to ensure that they can enjoy payment experiences that work for them. At the same time, we want to add value and convenience to our rapidly growing merchant base by enabling them to accept transactions from as many payment types as possible.”

Merchants will see an immediate cost saving when their customers use Ozow’s instant EFT option because they don’t pay the card fees.

To pay with Ozow on the Zapper app, consumers simply need to select Ozow as their payment option. During checkout, they will be prompted to enter their bank login details and create a four-digit PIN. They’ll then select the bank account they want to pay from and follow the steps to confirm the payment. To ensure this is secure, consumers will be required to approve the payment on their banking app.

Read more: Tencent leads $48m Ozow Series B funding round

Featured image supplied by Ozow