Bank Zero, a digital bank based in South Africa, has announced that it is in the process of developing three new features: Pay Many, Immediate Payments, and Phone Tap Payments. As disclosed by Michael Jordaan, Chairman of Bank Zero, in a post on X, Phone Tap Payments will facilitate the integration of smartphone wallets for tap payments.
The Pay Many function is intended for salary payments, while the Immediate Payments function will operate similarly to PayShap, an instant interbank electronic payment scheme, but with more flexibility.
Founded and registered with the South African Reserve Bank in 2018, Bank Zero pledged in 2023 to enhance bulk payments and collections processes. Jordaan has now confirmed that this pledge will be realised in the aforementioned three features.
Although the platforms to be supported for phone tap payments have yet to be disclosed, speculation is rife with suggestions of the usual options, such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay. According to a spokesperson for the bank, all smartphone payment platforms are currently being evaluated.
Meanwhile, nearly five years after being established, South Africa’s TymeBank has posted its first-ever profit.
They further added that support for watch payments will also be introduced at a later stage. Currently, watch payment services such as Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay are available in South Africa and are supported by most major banks in the country, including Capitec, First National Bank (FNB), and Standard Bank.
In October 2023, Bank Zero launched an app-only service to offer low-cost solutions to business clients. This service broadened the functionality of the Bank Zero app beyond mere payment processing, to include more sophisticated features, such as establishing an internal banking team, modifying mandates, and designating access rights.
In the final quarter of 2023, Bank Zero maintained its zero-pricing policy, under which basic banking services are free and additional services are charged at relatively low rates.
With respect to international payments, the fintech charges a reduced rate of 1% when using Bank Zero cards, in contrast to the 2.75% or more typically charged by traditional banks.
Bank Zero, along with other South African neobanks such as TymeBank and Discovery Bank, is contributing to the creation of more user-centric banking alternatives.
