 Spend it safely
By Theo Boshoff
There is a new solution available to foreign visitors coming to South African shores, giving them more peace of mind to spend their money safely and without the worry of being ripped off or defrauded.
The locally developed Neo Africa Secure Solution consists of a combination of pre-paid travel cards, mobile phones and services, supported by MasterCard, Vodacom and Standard Bank, offering users payment security while touring the country.
The solution uses mobile card activation technology developed in South Africa, and combines a mobile phone handset and pre-paid travel card, bundled with safety and concierge services.
According to Neo Africa, there are packages available for all kinds of travellers - from the low-end economy package all the way to a premium package for those with lots of cash and considering themselves VIPs.
The solution consists of a pre-paid travel card, in local currency, linked with a mobile phone containing a local SIM card – offering local call rates, and without which the card won’t work. The mobile phone is used to activate and deactivate the debit card.
As a security measure for lost, stolen or cloned cards, the debit card is deactivated and rendered useless after each transaction. It might sound like a rather labour-intensive task to activate the card every time you want to use it, but if it protects you from losing all your hard-earned cash, it’s really not that bad.
Users can also upgrade the handset to full QWERTY-keyboard phone, with built-in TV and dual SIM capability, allowing the user to insert their own roaming GSM SIM together with the local SIM.
The solution includes one-touch services to activate and deactivate the card, reloading both the card with cash or the phone’s airtime, perform balance checks, as well as instant access to Neo Africa’s concierge and emergency service. Users will also be continuously kept in the loop of card usage with text messages, similar to FNB’s “In Contact” service.
The integrated tracking service further assists in keeping the user safe, allowing Neo Africa to locate the traveller in case of emergency.
According to the company, the solution can be used across the globe. “It allows cardholders to manage their own card permissions per country; to selectively allow ATM withdrawals, merchant purchases and even to specifically allow a single internet e-commerce transaction. Importantly, the technology can detect and stop fraud where the new chip card has been issued incorrectly and swiped at a merchant point-of-sale,” says Neo Africa founder and CEO Vivien Natasen.
The available Neo Africa Secure Solution packages include:
· The Economy package, costing R700 ($95)
· The Corporate package, costing R950 ($125)
· The Premium package, costing R3500 ($450)
Orders can be placed at www.neoafricasecure.com.
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