Carly Barnes

SnapScan, a product of FireID Payments, is a new mobile app in South Africa which allows users to make payment transactions using their smart phone.

To process a payment a user scans the code with the SnapScan app, which is operated using the phone’s camera. This recalls a store’s relevant details and allows them to pay and confirm the transaction with a 4 digit PIN.

The charge is taken off a debit or credit card (Visa or MasterCard), the same way it would with a regular card transaction.

The app is available for iPhone, Android or BlackBerry and is free to download and use. Once downloaded, bank cards are scanned onto the phone and protected with a four digit PIN. Details are encrypted and stored on the phone itself and cannot be seen by anyone else.

SnapScan connected shops each have a unique code which is linked to their bank account. This is called a SnapCode. The Merchant Finder, an operation within the app, allows users to identify available SnapScan connected shops.

Kobus Ehlers, co-founder of the SnapScan app believes that Africa is a leader in the mobile payment field and said: “SnapScan was developed in South Africa for the African market, so we try to find really local and relevant solutions and I think it’s going to get a massive uptake. Technology in general is going to get a massive uptake in Africa as we don’t have those legacy systems. People aren’t used to using credit cards for example, they can skip right ahead and start using cutting-edge payment technology.’

In the next four years Africa’s smartphone market is predicted to double and mobile payment methods are expected to increase respectively. Kenya has already developed a mobile platform, M-Pesa, which allows users to pay bills, withdraw salaries and transfer cash electronically. In a sense, Africa’s lack of traditional infrastructure has resulted in the continent moving directly into the mobile space.

John Campbell, head of the Beyond Payments division of Standard Bank, commented: “In other territories where that infrastructure was not available, that infrastructure has been leapfrogged by the use of mobile. M-Pesa in Kenya is a good example of that, where money goes straight to your mobile — your mobile number almost becomes your account number, that’s effectively what happens.”

Visit the SnapScan website for more information.

The final round of Africa Connected’s competition to find the top five inspiring and successful people in Africa, who are running community transforming projects using the internet and Google, is open for public voting until 7 March.

Africa Connected is an initiative created by Google and a number of partners to encourage and educate people to start their own positive online ventures and to highlight those who are already doing so.

Out of 10 finalists, five winners will each receive $25,000 to aid their campaigns.

The top 10 finalists

Laming Mbengue – creator of the web TV channel Senegal TV, which targets Senegalese people abroad who want to connect with their country.

Eric Obuh – a Nigerian singer who has gone from scavenging in dump sites to becoming a worldwide sensation, due to exposure on YouTube. Obuh now uses Google+ and YouTube to highlight the underprivileged youth, living in the slums of Lagos.

Sitawa Wafula – a Kenyan blogger who used Google Blogger and started an award-winning blog on the topic of mental health in East Africa.

Nqobizitha Mlilo – an animator and filmmaker in Zimbabwe who runs Nafuna TV, using YouTube to promote his animation and video content.

Eseoghene Odiete – a designer who used Google Search and YouTube to learn how to create handbags, and subsequently found bloggers and magazines to feature her products.

Eunice Namirembe – a Ugandan doctor who has built a 24-hour accessible ambulance call centre to improve access to health care services by using the Google API dashboard and Google Maps.

Christopher Panford – runs a transport company empowering and enabling drivers in Ghana to gain access to loans to buy cars.

Steve Kyenze – runs a gallery in a Kenyan slum and teaches children to sustain their lives with art. Artworks are displayed on the gallery website, and are available for purchase.

Timothy Maguire – a South African who uses Google Translate to communicate with rural communities in Mozambique, so that he can provide them with access to clean drinking water.

Mayowa Adegbile – used YouTube as a platform to raise funds for her business school for widowed mothers in Nigeria.

Visit the Africa Connected website for more information.

According to a report by Juniper Research, smart home service revenues are expected to reach $71bn by 2018, with 80% being generated by home entertainment services.

Faster connection speeds, availability of greater volumes of content and increased delivery convenience have spurred the projected growth figures, as well as the emergence of video subscription and streaming services such as Netflix, LOVEFiLM and Amazon Instant Video.

Although set-top boxes are still a popular viewer choice, allowing users to access the internet through their televisions and make use of subscription services as well as pay-per-view, download-to-own and rentals, the smart television market is on the rise.

In South Africa available products have not yet reached a mainstream market and appeal to only a small percentage of consumers who are able to afford the high-cost devices. As with the emergence of flat screen televisions, which have fast become the standard, according to the report, these products will become more affordable and relevant to a broader audience.

Due to the number and variety of home devices becoming available, it is anticipated that no single operator will be able to dominate this arena, but stakeholders in smart television will need to constantly ensure that their networks are modernised and uniquely appealing to consumers in order to remain a viable player in the market.

With the expansion of smart home devices, a new opportunity exists for service providers to develop security and control services around these technologies, which could potentially reach $12bn by 2018.