Author: Staff Writer

Xero and Nedbank have partnered to give small businesses and their advisors’ financial data through a fully digital API-enabled bank feed. Xero is a global small-business cloud accounting platform. The new feed will go live soon and will be available to Nedbank small business clients with a Xero account, at no additional cost. Once live, small businesses will be able to connect the feed from their Xero account. This fully digital bank feed will mean that small businesses and their advisors can import their banking transactions automatically and securely, directly from Nedbank into their Xero organisation. This bank feed is…

Absa Group announced today it has been selected to serve on the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council’s (PCI SSC’s) Board of Advisors in 2021 and 2022. The banking group said in a statement in this role will be able to help shape the development of payment data security standards and programmes globally. The PCI SSC leads a global, cross-industry effort to increase payment security by providing industry-driven data security standards and programmes that help businesses detect, mitigate and prevent cyberattacks and breaches. Absa Group Chief Security Officer Sandro Bucchianeri will represent Absa on the board for the third consecutive…

The South African EduTech startup Play Sense has become one of the first registered play-focused preschool franchises in the country. Play Sense raised R8.25 million in early-stage funding from USA-based Enygma Ventures in April. The private investment fund focuses on investing in women-led social impact businesses in Southern Africa. The Africa Trust Group is its local implementation partner. The digitally-enabled micro-playschool programme enables teachers to set up their own playschools at home under the Play Sense banner, with its imaginative play-centred curriculum for preschoolers as its primary drawcard. It has now become one of the first programmes of its kind…

Customers pay for goods or services via the channel of their choice. Transaction Junction’s omnichannel payment platform enables this, while affording retailers a holistic view of their clients. The convergence of the physical and digital worlds means that geographic monopoly is playing an increasingly smaller role in selling products and services. Moreover, competing on price alone is no longer an effective way to succeed in business, which is why customer experience (CX) has become increasingly important. Payment is a crucial part of CX, but with the introduction of multiple eCommerce channels, the advancement of payment technologies and the abundance of…

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has urged the public against doing any financial services business with Tradetheatre Capital Markets Pty, which it has warned is not authorised to give any financial advice or render any intermediary services. The FSCA said according to the Tradetheatre Capital Markets’ website, it is a trading platform that offers trading in Forex, CFD, Cryptos and/or Binary Options. The website claims that Tradetheatre Capital Markets Pty and Tradetheatre Middle East Ltd are authorised by the FSCA and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority in Abu Dhabi respectively. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority has confirmed that Tradetheatre…

Concor (formerly Murray & Roberts) has successfully completed a fast-track COVID-19 facility at Jubilee Hospital using innovative building technology. The construction company said this facility was handed over on 27 November 2020, having begun work on site some five months earlier. Following the national COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Department issued a tender for this facility for the Gauteng Department of Health. Concor won the bid and began earthworks in July 2020. The turnkey project in Hammanskraal north of Pretoria handed over ten modular units to the Gauteng Department of Health, adding another 300 beds…

With the COVID-19 pandemic having battered the South African fiscus in 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa has cautioned that the country will have to embrace innovative interventions to rebuild the economy in the New Year. The President said this on Monday in his first weekly newsletter of 2021. “Public finances are under extreme strain, now even more so because of the cost of our health response to COVID-19 and the social and economic relief measures we put in place to assist businesses and poor households,” he wrote. “The contraction of the economy also meant that tax revenue has declined significantly. There…

Checkers Sixty60 was recently recognised as one of Memeburn’s best apps of 2020 – the apps were those who helped to manage the stress and chaos of lockdowns and social distancing. While 2020’s unexpected turn of events presented many challenges, Sixty60 provided customers with an innovative and safe solution to have their groceries delivered at the touch of a button at the same value for money for which Checkers is renowned. Customer response has been exceptional due to the service’s lightning-fast service and ease of use, and order volumes skyrocketed during lockdown necessitating Checkers to rapidly expand Sixty60 throughout the…

Dimension Data has put up a for-sale sign for its Mweb Internet service provider (ISP) business. Techcentral exclusively reported today that Dimension Data has appointed Standard Bank to lead the sale process. Four years ago Dimension Data, which is owned by Japan’s NTT, bought 100% control of Mweb from MultiChoice Group – which at the time was owned by Naspers. The company is an ISP based in South Africa since 1997. It is a division of Internet Solutions Digital Ltd, a subsidiary of Dimension Data, and its headquarters are located in the Mweb Building in Parow, Cape Town. It is…

Curro Holdings, the South African JSE-listed independent education provider, has appointed JP le Roux as the Executive Head of its flagship technology-driven school, Curro Foreshore. Le Roux will take the helm effective January 2021. The appointment comes alongside the school undergoing a major revamp. With a wealth of experience and a master’s degree in mathematics education, Le Roux was previously the head of mathematics and the deputy principal at Cedar House School in Cape Town. He is most looking forward to steering the school to even greater success. Curro Foreshore was the first school in the group to adopt the…