Absa bags Mr Price e-commerce deal

Absa, South Africa’s largest retail bank by customer numbers, today announced a partnership with fashion retailer, Mr Price that will extend the bank’s online payment services to the retailer’s customer base. Applicable to all Mr Price customers, this will provide a secure payment facility when shopping for Mr Price apparel online.

Absa Head of Retail Markets, Arrie Rautenbach attributes the acquisition of the landmark deal to significant progress the bank has made as a key player in the growing e-commerce industry.

He said Absa had been the preferred card acquiring partner of the Mr Price Group since 1996 while the bank has seen significant year-on-year payment acceptance value growth through its e-commerce platform of 142%.

“Absa’s in-depth understanding of the payment acceptance environment stands as testament to our reputation as a leading acquirer in the South African market and as an ideal banking partner to support Mr. Price,” says Rautenbach.

Absa’s partnership with Mr Price will see the bank develop a world-class early fraud detection capability for Mr Price’s recently introduced online shop that matches the best in the market. The fraud mitigation service would assist in combating online fraud to ensure that customers’ card accounts are not compromised.

“Online banking is one of the most successful stories to emerge from the advent of e-commerce. It provides unprecedented flexibility for consumers. However, for e-commerce to realise its full potential, consumers must have confidence in the security of online transactions,” says Rautenbach.

Absa Bank has maintained its position as a market leader in the payments segment, taking contactless and mobile payment solutions to new heights by being the first to market low-value payments contactless prepaid cards. The bank is also first in the South African market to pilot a One Touch product, a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled mobile phone which, serves as a payment device.

Furthermore, the bank continues to invest in its e-commerce capability with a number of innovative payment functionalities, such as One Time Password that enables Absa cardholders with the ability to use a mobile based one-time password for identification when using their bank card for purchases over the internet.

“Our alliance with Mr Price is a definite move forward showcasing Absa’s contribution towards the evolution of the e-commerce industry with a security platform that places convenience at centre stage,” concludes Rautenbach.