Blue Label Telecoms: Spazas to get MasterCard terminals

JSE-listed Blue Label Telecoms is partnering with MasterCard to roll out point-of-sale devices to 22 000 small traders, which will enable them to accept card payments for the first time. The firm said on Wednesday that it would install more than 15 000 EMV-certified terminals with MasterCard mobile software that could process payments made by chip-based and contactless payment cards. Traders have historically accepted cash only. “While the number of South Africans with access to formal banking products has increased significantly in the last year, the number of card acceptance locations – especially in rural and peri-urban areas – has not grown in tandem,” Philip Panaino, the division president of MasterCard South Africa, said on Wednesday. Blue Label also intended to upgrade 7 000 terminals. This would allow consumers to pay at approved merchants using cellphones or MasterCard debit or credit cards issued by Standard Bank, Absa, Nedbank and the SA Social Security Agency. – Asha Speckman