Morning after morning he lies awake staring at the ceiling with one thought – I have failed my family. Then one morning, the answer hits him. He finally has a way forward.
Last year, a cousin asked him for a small loan to cover school fees. How many others were just like her? Using his payout, he gets moving and launches a microlending business. He is thrilled with building something of his own. He wouldn’t just be lending; he would be helping people fill their financial gaps.
But regardless of how hard he hustles; the challenges are harder. He finds payment devices and their maintenance costly. He is overwhelmed and burdened by microlending compliance, licensing, and fees. Cash flow becomes a nightmare. Customers agree in the moment and then don’t follow through with payments, change bank accounts, or dispute debit orders. As soon as his business has begun so it’s sentenced to end, and with it, his dream. Defeated, Chris decides to settle for a job with less potential and less pay. A small salary is better than no salary.
The Vision
Chris may be fictional, but his challenges are real - especially when it comes to getting paid. Traditional debit orders are outdated. Customers can dispute them, cancel them, or simply empty their accounts before payments go through. For business owners, this means wasted time, lost revenue, and frustration. For customers, debit orders come with a risk of fraud. But DebiCheck changes this.
DebiCheck requires customers to authorise payments directly with their bank at the moment of sign-up. This gives customers control over their bank accounts, prevents unauthorised debit orders and protects them against financial loss. There are delayed DebiChecks, where a person has time to approve the debit order. There are also real-time DebiChecks via banking app, online banking, USSD, branch, or contact centers. Delayed decisions can mean loss of sales. But real-time decisions close sales and make fast payments possible.
But what if DebiCheck could go further? Businesses move fast - payment processes should too. Imagine Chris authenticating a DebiCheck mandate instantly, just by having customers tap their card on his phone. This wouldn’t only benefit businesses; it would benefit their customers who can quickly and conveniently undertake DebiChecks.
Nedbank saw the future. With a commitment to driving innovation and financial inclusion, the bank sought to empower businesses with seamless, compliant, and efficient payment solutions.
The Challenge
Nedbank partnered with Halo Dot and together they brought DebiCheck TT3 Mandate Authentication via Tap to life. Nedbank is the enabling bank offering the solution, while Halo Dot developed the revolutionary tap-on-phone technology. The two companies worked together before, creating the first SoftPOS solution in Africa.
Capital Software saw the potential of TT3 Mandate Authentication via Tap on Phone. Recognising the game-changing impact, it pushed to bring it to market first, ensuring businesses across industries could benefit. The company is a Third-Party Payments Processor (TPPP) and Systems Operator (SO). Since 1968 Capital Software has built products that cover the entire spectrum of business solutions across industries.
Capital Software also enables microlending and debt collecting businesses. Its customers’ businesses are burdened with compliance expenses, licenses and complex terminology prompting Capital Software to create a “business in a box” app called SlicPay. Through the SlicPay solution, Capital Software empowers microlending and debt-collecting businesses with built-in compliance, seamless reconciliation, and automated collections, eliminating the need for costly licenses and complex regulatory navigation.
The company was determined to revolutionise the DebiCheck experience and remove any barriers to business, everything from hardware device maintenance to delayed payments. Integrating a real-time, Debicheck TT3 Mandate Authentication via Tap on Phone solution across multiple banks was challenging but Capital Software wouldn’t give up.
“If someone says that it cannot be done, Capital Software says hell yes, we will get it done,” explains Christel De Bruin, Director of Capital Software.
Like any innovation, it came with its own challenges, but together, Nedbank and Halo Dot worked tirelessly with Capital Software and are proud to bring this first to market solution to life.
The First-to-Market Solution
The three companies ensured the solution built into Slicpay worked across all South African banks, making it accessible to qualifying businesses. Halo Dot created the powerful functionality for the Slicpay app that allowed its businesses to seamlessly process DebiCheck TT3 Mandate Authentication transactions with a tap, on their phone. Through its extensive experience and a track record of achieving rigorous payment certifications, Halo Dot built the solution with bank-grade security, scalability, and reliability.
When a customer wants to authenticate a mandate, they simply tap their card on a compatible smartphone and enter their PIN. The process is seamless. Halo Dot’s technology is plugged into the Slicpay app and creates an intuitive experience. Halo Dot handles all backend bank verifications through Nedbank, ensuring a secure and compliant transaction.
