Johannesburg, 31 Aug 2020
ACS, a division of JSE-listed group Altron, recently celebrated the completion of the EMV certifications for the Urovo Technology Android OS payment terminal with one of the top five banks.
“The certification itself is normal business practice for all of the technology providers in this industry. What makes this significant is the fact that not only is this the first Android OS certification for ACS, but it is also a big technological departure from the current industry products. The popular ACS payment application software now also runs on multiple Android platforms. We are also one of the first companies in the market to get this application certified and have been awarded the contract to supply these devices to one of the top banks in South Africa.” This is according to Mark Badenhorst, Business Development Manager at ACS.
Badenhorst goes on to say it is very much an open standard and significantly changes how the industry is going to operate. By all accounts, this is the direction in which the industry will be moving. This includes terminal manufacturers, terminal software and business alike.
The advantages it will hold for ACS clients are twofold. The first component that adds to the excitement of this is the fact that most terminal manufacturers have already embraced this technology. There are a significant number of new entrants into the market, predominantly from the East because they are also the biggest manufacturers of mobile phones. This new technology is very similar to mobile phone technology, namely based on the Android OS. Secondly, the hardware costs are at a better price point than the traditional Linux devices from the traditional manufacturers.
Badenhorst elaborates by adding: “In addition to this, the multi-application capability of an Android OS system also provides clients, and in ACS’s case, retailers and banks, with the opportunity to run multiple applications on the device, over and above their traditional payment application. Now a client can have a device that has a business application, for example, a point of sale application as well as the normal card acceptance payment application all running on the same device at the same time. The ACS application is certified by the regulatory authorities, namely VISA, MasterCard and Amex with the added advantage of the ACS application being available on both Linux and Android platforms. This allows for a simpler migration path from one platform to the other.”
Badenhorst also mentions they are seeing business applications and software becoming the major drivers in the payments industry, where previously the focus was on the hardware capability. He concludes by saying the market is ever-changing, these changes are exciting and will ultimately provide clients with the best technological offerings while moving the industry closer to the Internet of things.
Share