NamITech First to take EMV Technology into Africa

Monday, April 25, 2005

NamITech (Pty) Limited, a member of the listed Altech group, has secured a contract for the supply of EMV (Europay, MasterCard and VISA) compliant bank cards into the Republic of Rwanda. The contract is significant for NamITech as it is the first EMV deal outside of South Africa for the company and is ground breaking in terms of the deployment of EMV technology into Africa.
The contract is with SIMTEL, a consortium of seven banks, that has been established by the Rwandan government to modernise the country?s national payments network. The official launch of the smart card product was held in Rwanda, at a Government supported function.
Eric Proudfoot, NamITech Executive: Banking Solutions responsible for Product, who is driving NamITech?s African strategy for banking, says, ?The Rwandan Government is acting very progressively by spear heading this initiative for an electronics payment system in its country. Having the full backing of Government and the Central Bank has assured the success of the project to date.?
?Research by Visa has shown that an electronic payment infrastructure such as the one developed by SIMTEL can contribute to an increased GDP and deliver true cost savings. A further important consideration, particularly for African countries, is that electronic payments can assist in banking the unbanked and replacing cash.
?NamITech is proud to be associated with such an exciting project. As a company with a strong pan-African strategy, it is reassuring that African companies have faith in African companies,? says Proudfoot.
The first phase of the product will comprise debit cards only and will be limited to domestic transactions. However, plans are underway to expand the solution to foreign transactions by year-end.
Story found here.

Source: Balancing Act