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Ukash introduces e-cash in South Africa

27 November 2008

• The payment method allows merchants to tap into the 40% unbanked population
• Top retailer wantitall.co.za is one of first to accept e-cash

London, 27 November 2008 - E-commerce payment provider Smart Voucher Ltd, trading as Ukash, has become the first to offer online cash payment solutions in South Africa, allowing e-retailers to market to the country's large cash consumer base for the first time.

UK-based Ukash, in partnership with strategic partner Blue Label Telecoms, enables consumers who do not own a card or are unwilling to use it on the Internet, to purchase from online merchants without revealing sensitive bank details using prepaid vouchers.

"We saw a great opportunity in South Africa," says Mark Chirnside, CEO of Ukash. "There are currently no precedents in the market and this opens the door to online shopping for so many South Africans."

Acording to a 2007 survey conducted by Finscope, 40% of South Africans are unbanked. "This has limited them from participating in the digital revolution and transacting online," says Chirnside. "It has also stopped online merchants from marketing to this segment, thus increasing the gap."

As from 17 November, 2008, Ukash vouchers can already be spent at a number of top online retailers, including wantitall.co.za, the face of Amazon in the country; social networking and music sites and the company is looking to expand the list extensively in the coming months.

Consumers will be able to purchase Ukash vouchers from a wide selection of terminals within the network of Blue Label Telecoms distribution channels. Blue Label is a leading distributor of prepaid secure electronic tokens of value transactional services and has successfully built a global distribution network of 200,000 touch points within emerging markets such as South Africa and currently working on bringing payment solutions to other emerging markets such as India.
"Smart Voucher Ltd. has a long history of expansion into new territories both with the Ukash brand as well as with our proprietary technology and white labelling services. The reception by merchants has been fantastic and we have very high expectations of what we can deliver to the South African market" says Chirnside.