Visa and Network Int. Launch Mobile POS Terminals in UAE

Visa has launched mobile Point of Sale [mPOS] terminals in the UAE.

A mobile POS terminal is a secure device that can connect to most smart mobile phones and is capable of undertaking and validating card payments in the presence of the cardholder and saves the need to tender exact change or run to an ATM while paying for goods and services delivered home or purchased at non-traditional locations.

“The launch of mobile Point of Sale terminals is an important part of our long-term strategy to facilitate mobile payments,” explained Marcello Baricordi, General Manager – UAE for Visa and Global Accounts Lead MENA. “The new initiative offers convenience, mobility and security to a wider base of our cardholders, revolutionizes our customer experience and enables merchants to have new options for sales transactions on the go. We are committed to bringing new ways to pay to the UAE in an effort to expand the reach and acceptance of the internationally trusted and secure Visa network.”

In the UAE, mobile POS acceptance is being pioneered by payment solutions provider Network International in partnership with Synergistic Financial Network and is being piloted with two establishments that are involved with home delivery of food. These mPOS terminals called Mosambee, the first-of-their-kind in the country, are EMV compliant – a global standard for inter-operation of integrated circuit cards and integrated card capable POS terminals, for authenticating credit and debit card transactions.

“Working closely with Network International and Synergistic Financial Networks enables us to provide our cardholders and client banks a secure, reliable and globally accepted form of payment through mobile devices. The mPOS terminals are the first to be EMV Chip and PIN compliant whereas other markets have only the Swipe version in use. The new mPOS payment facility has the ability to transform the revenues of smaller businesses and traders in a big way. By way of this launch, we see a huge opportunity to be at the forefront of mobile payment services,” added Marcello.

Mosambee is an mPOS product developed by Synergistic Financial Networks, India and is being launched in the UAE and other parts of Asia with active support from Visa and will soon expand to other regions. Mosambee’s EMV project in UAE was undertaken by teams in UAE and India under the guidance and direction of Alok Arora, the CEO of Synergistic Financial Networks. The company’s Regional Head for MENA, Aditya Anand, has been instrumental for this project right from the outset to its fruition.

The mPOS devices are compliant with EMV Chip and PIN security standards. This level of transaction authentication is considered the most secure form of transaction security and meets with the strict standards employed by Visa.

For merchants and card payment processing banks, it is also a cost-effective option with mPOS terminals costing less than 10% the price of traditional terminals which are about AED 1,200 to AED 2,000. The innovative mPOS terminals will open new areas of card acceptance like home delivery or cash on delivery and are ideally suited for businesses such as fast food, groceries, online retailers and the like.

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