Kazang Pay launches card acquiring service in Zambia

By Gloria Methri

Kazang, the prepaid value-added services (VAS) and card-acquiring business has launched its Kazang Pay card acceptance solution for merchants in Zambia. Kazang Pay makes it affordable for merchants to accept card payments on the same Kazang terminal they use to sell prepaid products and services.

The Kazang Pay-enabled terminal in Zambia accepts Visa debit and credit cards as well as mobile wallet payments. Payments 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.

Kazang operates around 12,000 VAS terminals in the country. 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.

The launch of Kazang Pay in Zambia follows the introduction of the solution in South Africa, where around 60,000 small and micro merchants use this solution to accept card payments. In Zambia, around 3.8 million debit, credit and ATM cards are issued, and 41,000 point-of-sale (POS) terminals are in place. According to the Bank of Zambia, the value of POS transactions will grow to K 111.4 billion by 2022 from less than K 20 billion in 2018.

Leon de Wit, managing director at Kazang Zambia, said, “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 VAS products.

Ashley Naidoo, director of Kazang Pay in South Africa, added, “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.”