Business News sponsored by Vodacom Transformation of Work:

The ability for small businesses to accept payments on a smartphone has been revolutionary for businesses of all sizes. Tap-on-phone technology, although in its early days, has the potential to play a key transformative role in driving financial inclusion throughout Africa.

As South Africa’s biggest digital bank, TymeBank announced the migration of their Tap-on-Phone customer base to the iKhokha Tap-on-Phone platform. This move will enable their business banking customers to not only utilise the latest in mobile payment innovation, but to also have access to iKhokha’s all-in-one suite of intuitive business tools, including cash advance products, sales reports, business insights, and a host of online payment acceptance solutions.

 “We believe providing access to innovative solutions for South  African businesses to truly fulfil their potential is a key contributor to the broader economy. To that end, iKhokha’s credentials speak for themselves. Having recently won the Best Financial App of the Year Award at the 2023 MTN Business App of the Year and being rated the segment leader by South African SMEs on HelloPeter, iKhokha is perfectly positioned to empower TymeBank business customers to thrive,” says Greg Illgner, Chief Strategy Officer at TymeBank.

This announcement comes a mere few weeks after TymeBank announced its first month of profitability in December 2023, less than five years since launching.

 This arrangement with TymeBank and other leading South African financial institutions, further strengthens iKhokha’s position to positively impact the lives of entrepreneurs and small business owners in South Africa, making it easier for anyone to run a business.

“TymeBank has done an incredible job at building seamless banking distribution into key segments of the South African economy, and we couldn’t be prouder to support TymeBank customers with our Tap On Phone technology.  

Both brands can continue to revolutionise the small business landscape for entrepreneurs in South Africa. Our small business sector is massively resilient despite a tough trading environment, and we will continue to help entrepreneurs and SME’s to believe in better business by investing in our SME focused financial services platform to expose more local SME’s to the digital economy,” says CEO Matt Putman.  iKhokha has rapidly become a leading player in the fintech space in South Africa. iK Tap on Phone service, which is now available to all TymeBank customers, makes use of a business owners’ smartphones, with no transactional limits and quick setup. A variety of card machines are also available to those interested in upgrading.

Feedback from merchants thus far has been positive, with many who have completed the migration reporting their satisfaction with the additional payment acceptance options, including a payment gateway for e-Commerce, QR Code and Paylink functionality, an invoice tool, a business management dashboard with daily sales analytics to allow business owners to set sales targets, performance sales tracking, sales reporting and more.