Little launches contactless payments with Absa, Visa

Taxi-hailing Little App has partnered with Absa Bank Kenya PLC and Visa to launch the near-field communication (NFC) payment feature for customers using its application.

NFC is a wireless technology that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of four centimetres or less.

The collaboration among the three companies aims at streamlining and expediting payments on Little taxis by allowing drivers to accept card-based payments using Android smartphones, promoting efficiency.

“We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Absa and Visa, two industry leaders in their respective domains… the introduction of the NFC payment feature reinforces our commitment to revolutionise convenience and efficiency within the ride-hailing industry,” said Kamal Budhabatti, CEO at Little.

“Incorporating Visa’s renowned expertise and Absa’s local insights, we are confident that this partnership will greatly enhance our users’ payment experience.” The technology uses radio frequency identification to transfer information in a process similar to Bluetooth or WiFi technology.

Little will leverage Absa’s Mobi Tap app that turns a smartphone into a point of sale (POS) allowing customers to tap contactless debit or credit cards on the driver’s Android phone or tablet to pay.

To pay, the driver enters the transaction amount and the customer places the contactless card directly under the driver’s phone, holding it briefly for a successful connection and a confirmation is sent to the app.

“This unique partnership with Absa and Little is part of Visa’s ongoing commitment to enable SMEs to accept digital payments by offering cost-effective, fast, and secure innovations,” said Eva Ngigi-Sarwari, Visa Kenya’s country manager.

“Through this collaboration, any Little App driver can start accepting card payments on their NFC-enabled smartphone without the need to purchase a separate POS machine,” she said.

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