Prophius partners with Mastercard to bring Tap on Phone payments to small businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa

Lagos, Nigeria, 19 September 2022. Prophius today announced the launch of its PayContactless solution certified by Mastercard: a contactless acceptance solution that turns any NFC-enabled Android device into a physical point of sale. This move is expected to boost digital payment acceptance at small and micro enterprises in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and other key markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, while supporting consumers' preference for safe and simple digital payment.

PayContactless uses Mastercard Tap on Phone, a simple and cost-effective digital payment technology developed for micro and small businesses and tradespeople who tend to operate in a cash economy because of the cost and complexity of obtaining traditional point-of-sale devices. The solution turns Android smartphones into secure payment acceptance devices for contactless cards, mobile wallets and even smartwatches, with no additional equipment or set-up costs.

Small businesses benefit from a faster checkout in store, and can easily accept card payment on delivery.

This milestone makes Prophius the first fintech in West Africa to be certified by Mastercard for Tap on Phone, and furthers its mission to enable commerce and create simple payment experiences at the storefront.

"This is the next phase for us in our quest to enable commerce at the storefront in a simple, cheap and effective way," says Olugbenga Adams, Founder and CEO at Prophius. "This is especially important for small businesses who need to accept payments without the associated hardware cost, and for partners including financial institutions and fintech companies who want to enrich their existing products with contactless payment acceptance."

PayContactless gives consumers a checkout experience that is flexible, intuitive and secure. To pay, the customer taps their contactless card or wearable against the merchant's device. If the transaction amount exceeds the cardholder's verification limit for contactless, the customer enters their bank card PIN on the merchant's phone. This is safe for the cardholder: the PIN is encrypted and is not accessible by anyone.

The Tap on Phone functionality aligns with Mastercard's commitment to delivering quicker and more accessible payments without sacrificing security for convenience, and supports the company's commitment to connect 50 million micro and small businesses to the digital economy by 2025.

"Small businesses are crucial for systemic economic recovery, and by connecting more SMEs to digital commerce tools and affordable payment acceptance solutions, we are putting in place a strong foundation that can facilitate sustainable growth," says Ebehijie Momoh, Country Manager and Area Business Head, West Africa at Mastercard. "Through our partnership with Prophius, we can further support financial inclusion and help these businesses deliver new and best-in-class contactless consumer experiences using a device they already own: a smartphone."

Prophius is working with several bank partners across Sub-Saharan Africa, with the solution expected to be available to small businesses from October in selected markets.

About Prophius

Prophius is a financial technology company. Our mission is to enable commerce for businesses in simple yet powerful ways using technology. We believe that businesses can create wealth for themselves, individuals, corporate institutions and society when given the tools, platform and support to succeed. We are building these capabilities across several markets toward a more inclusive world. www.prophius.com

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA) is a global technology company in the payments industry. Its mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere, by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. www.mastercard.com

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