Author: Staff Writer

Yoco announced today that its customer base of small businesses had crossed the 100,000 milestone and to further grow its customer base the South African FinTech firm is launching its first ‘standalone’ card machine. The ‘standalone’ card machine is known as the Yoco Neo. This device does not require a smart device or bluetooth to enable payments. Speaking from the Yoco Next, a virtual launch event, Yoco’s founders summarised the product development journey that the FinTech company has been on since the launch of South Africa’s most affordable card machine – the Yoco Go – late last year.  Yoco Go is…

Pick n Pay’s Smart Shoppers can now have their till receipts sent directly to their email instead of receiving a printed receipt. These will also be loaded onto customer’s PnP mobile app profile for 90 days so that they are conveniently saved in one place for easy access and review. Pick n Pay’s new Digital Receipts will be sent to a customer’s email or PnP app within minutes of completing their purchase at any Pick n Pay store, including Clothing, Liquor, and Express stores. This is another step in the retailer’s efforts to reduce unnecessary waste. Many till receipts land…

AURA, South Africa’s security and safety platform, has appointed Alon Lits as its Chairman with immediate effect. Previously General Manager for Uber sub-Saharan Africa, Lits brings with him decades of experience and aims to assist Aura CEO, Warren Myers, to maximise the opportunities that exist for the growing platform business. “In my seven-year tenure at Uber I have learnt some valuable lessons and I hope to share these with the Aura team, while helping them continue on their important journey of democratising access to security solutions and medical response across South Africa,” says Lits. With a career that began in…

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, have retreated from their commitment to the “active scenario”, which lasted just 3 months, according to Geordin Hill-Lewis MP, DA Shadow Minister of Finance. Lewis was reacting to Mboweni’s Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) the Minister delivered in Parliament on Wednesday. Debt will not stabilise by 2023. In fact, it will continue to balloon to a massive 95% of GDP and will now only stabilise in 2025/26, with an extra R1 trillion in additional debt. “The ANC government has chosen to cut essential services to the public – like education and policing…

In an effort to stabilise the spiraling public sector wage bill, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has announced that National Treasury will propose a three-year wage freeze. The proposal is contained in the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) the Minister delivered in Parliament on Wednesday. About R36.5 billion has been reduced from the compensation of employees, mainly from a freeze in salary increases. In supporting documents, Treasury said government proposes growth in the public service wage bill of 1.8% in the current year and average annual growth of 0.8% over the 2021 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period. “To achieve…

Stabilising government’s debt will come with difficult decisions, and the public sector wage bill is the main area where government will impose reductions aimed at returning public finances to a stable position. The National Treasury said this in its Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on Wednesday, in which it proposes steps to reduce the fiscal deficit and stabilise the debt-to-GDP ratio over a five-year period. This as National Treasury looks to make spending reductions of R60 billion in 2021/22, R90 billion in 2022/23 and R150 billion in 2023/24 – mostly falling on compensation. “Large fiscal adjustments and an improving economic…

Nokia today announced that it is enabling ultra-fast 5G services for Vodacom South Africa’s customers by deploying its 5G radio, core and fixed network solutions across Vodacom’s network. Vodacom is using Nokia’s 2G, 3G, 4G and fibre access networks, as well as 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) and mobile broadband services. Nokia is supplying its AirScale, Fastmile and Subscriber Data Management (SDM) / Home Subscriber Server (HSS) products to Vodacom to enhance its service offering and deliver increased operational efficiencies. Nokia’s AirScale radio network product portfolio will enable Vodacom to deploy 5G services across several spectrum bands, including the new…

A syndicate of criminals posing as employees of vehicle-tracking companies is targeting these companies’ customers in a car-theft scam. The criminals claim that customers’ tracking devices need repairing, then set up appointments, where they attempt to steal vehicles. The syndicate is targeting high-value vehicles from all major tracking providers. Vehicle-tracking and fleet-management organisation Netstar has launched a multi-pronged strategy to combat the threat. Alerts have been sent to customers, staff and fitment centres, and investigations are underway. “We are conducting an inquiry to ensure customer information remains protected and to help apprehend suspects so that justice is served.” said Netstar’s…

IT services company Gijima, owned by Robert Gumede, has bought one of its main rivals T-Systems South Africa for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is pending Competition Commission approval. T-Systems South Africa, owned by T-Systems International, the IT services arm of German-based Deutsche Telekom, has been providing ICT networks, applications and systems to South African companies for over 20 years. This transaction is the result of T-Systems International’s strategic review of its global portfolio and its decision to refocus on its core markets in Europe and the Americas. The transaction will enable Gijima to have access to international IP, expertise…

Payment and merchant solutions provider, Dashpay, has partnered with South Africa’s biggest financial marketplace, Fincheck, to offer an array of on-demand personal finance facilities via hundreds of thousands of Newland point of sale smart terminals, in stores across South Africa. Dashpay’s Newland devices operate on the Android platform, which means that they are able to run a variety of applications, alongside the processing of traditional credit card purchases. The Fincheck app, which merchants can register for and download directly to the terminal, offers customers the opportunity to compare and apply for personal finance via the in-store terminal. Fincheck compares offers…