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Home / Bank Windhoek reaches milestone in POS devices
Bank Windhoek reaches milestone in POS devices
2016-08-12Staff Report 2 Windhoek Bank Windhoek recently surpassed the 2 000 mark for the number of Point-of-Sale devices in use in Namibia. The bank is now processing over N$200 million worth of transactions per month with transactions banked in the afternoon or evening that are settled to merchants the next morning, making it the fastest settlement service in Namibia. When NamSwitch was implemented in June 2009, Bank Windhoek introduced its own POS payment system with 450 devices being installed within the first nine months. Historically, switching of Namibian domestic card transactions was performed by Saswitch as an integral part of the South African clearing and settlement process. One of the key objectives of the Namibia National Payment System reform project was to take the Namibian interbank domestic transactions (EFT, cheque and card) out of the South African National Payment System, so that they are cleared locally and settled by the Namibian Inter-bank Settlement System (NISS). The aim was further to allow for easy and convenient transactions for clients, reduce and control risks at domestic level, as well as reduce card transactional costs. “Banking occurs the next day for all transactions processed before 05h00 the previous day. Monthly statements can also be emailed to the merchants preferred email address with a summary of all batches for the month in question,” said Frankie Diergaardt, manager of cards issuing and acquiring at Bank Windhoek. “Deposit descriptions can be modified, as per the merchants’ preference, like store numbers for easy reconciliation. Also Bank Windhoek offers free merchant fraud and functional training on request,” said Diergaardt. According to Diergaardt, Bank Windhoek’s handheld POS devices work on a built-in modem with either an MTC or TN Mobile Sim. “You will be able to make 300 transactions before the battery needs to be recharged.” “Our fixed devices can connect via the internet, with a modem that works with a MTC and TN Mobile SIM or alternatively a landline,” said Diergaardt. “We’re proud of having installed more than 2 000 devices over this period of time and look forward to expanding in the future,” he said. 2016-08-12Staff Report 2
