FDH Bank introduces mini POS gadget targeting small business operators

* Dubbed ‘Small Business Game Changer’, the devise is designed like a mobile phone

* It also caters for ATMs for customers of any other branch at no extra fee and can be used for courier shopping, late night shopping, meeting travel costs and for filling up fuel

By Duncan Mlanjira

FDH Bank Plc, that is touted as a technological advanced and innovative financial service provider, has introduced a mini point of sale (PoS) named Kungoti Tswaa — that has been designed specifically for small and medium business operators.

It also caters for ATMs for customers of any other branch at no extra fee and can be used for courier shopping, late night shopping, meeting travel costs and for filling up fuel.

Dubbed ‘Small Business Game Changer’, the devise is designed like a mobile phone and are currently ready for business players to apply for.

At the launch on Wednesday at Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre, FDH Bank’s Senior Manager-Digital Sales, Yamikani Mbawala said in June, the Reserve Bank of Malawi advised financial service providers to go digital to inculcate a cashless society.

Mbawala told the invited guests that “the advantage of Kungoti Tswaa system is for both customers and merchants not to have lots of cash handy to avoid attracting robbers as well as that digital transactions is the modern way of doing business”.

“It is also reliable in that both the customer and merchant gets proof of payment and exact money paid and received. Further, there are no charges for customers and they can be customers of any other bank, but the merchant must be an FDH Bank client.”

Mbawala said they came up with the innovation taking into consideration that current PoS gadgets in supermarkets are only provided to huge businesses, thus denying small ones the opportunity for smart transactions.

One of the guests, Mathambo Lowole, who operates Sunnyside Lounge in Blantyre attested that Kungoti Tswaa is indeed a small business game changer and commended FDH Bank for the innovation.

“It is indeed handy,” he said. “This is a welcome development as it will ease the way we do business while providing a convenience to our valued customers.”

FDH Bank Plc has been inculcating a cashless society with various promotions to encourage customers to go digital.

It is currently running #Usampatse Timpatsa!# promotion and at the second monthly draw, Communications Manager, Lorraine Chikhula said from the large volumes of digital transactions, it attests that the culture of cashless society is being inculcated into the Bank’s customers.

Chikhula said the response has been overwhelming since the promotion was launched in June, that encourages customers to transact by sending money to their loved ones or as business transactions to any bank — through FDH 525 mobile; FDH Wallet or FDH Ufulu 525; Mpamba; Airtel Money; as well as cardless withdraws through ATM or at an FDH Agent spread across the country.

Lucky customers from the monthly draws, that concludes on October 31, are being rewarded with state-of-the-art PlayStation 5 (1), Iphone 14 Pro Max (2) while 12 are receiving K50,000 cash straight into their accounts.

The prizes were mooted so that they be used as presents, especially the Iphone 14 Pro Max and PlayStation 5 to customers children, spouses and other loved ones — Usampatse Timpatsa (don’t give them such a present yet, we will on your behalf).

But the winners still are the customer himself who transacted who will identify a beneficiary or might consider to keep the prize for themselves.

Chikhula emphasized that this is a digital era in that customers need not visit banking halls for their immediate business deals and thus encouraged them to continue with transact digitally even after the promotion.

“We still have two more draws and we encourage our valued customers to try out their luck till October 31 when we will conclude the promotion,” she said.

She added that they have ran such promotions before and “just want this to be a culture of using digital platforms because we are a digital bank.”

This was in direct reference to last year’s promotion of Swipe & Dash through which customers who transacted using FDH Bank point of sale (PoS) gadgets for the shopping and purchase of fuel were rewarded after monthly draws.

The lucky winners were then taken back to the supermarkets they purchased their shoppings from and give 60 minutes to dash around the shop with a trolley to pick whatever they needed but not to exceed K300,000.

The Swipe & Dash involved supermarkets such Chipiku Plus, Sana and Build Africa, which drew a tremendous jump in the usage of ATM cards, not just in withdrawing cash but paying for goods and services using their PoS placed in strategic service providers, including filling stations.

The Bank emphasizes that the digital transaction is the modern way of doing business, thus the idea behind the #Usampatse Timpatsa!# promotion.

In 2019, the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) held a digital financial services conference in Mangochi where former Governor Dalitso Kabambe highlighted that the high costs of using cash and cheques include time and money spent accessing a bank branch or an ATM to either deposit or withdraw money — as well as high cost of replacing bank notes.

After the conference that was to impress on financial services stakeholders to accelerate the shift from paper-based payments instruments, RBM took the cashless awareness campaign through the streets of Mangochi.

The awareness campaign started with a march from M’mbaluku led by the members of staff from RBM and various financial service that was spiced by the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) brass band with a car equipped with a public address system in front that had an official announcing the purpose of the march.

The parade ended at St. Augustine 2 Primary School where various banks and non-bank mobile money service providers erected pavilions to market their services.

The financial services providers included FDH Bank, Standard Bank, NBS Bank, Nedbank, National Bank, Ecobank, FINCA, First Capital as well as mobile money companies; TNM and Airtel.