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NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
Gordons Bay, Western Cape, South Africa, 10/31/2006 - Prepaid medical insurance targeting low income workers, in combination with innovative wireless prepaid vending solution.
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CASHIN is launching a prepaid medical insurance product linked to its prepaid airtime and electricity vending, wireless payment terminal offering.
Merchants renting CASHIN terminals will be given the option to package a number of prepaid medical insurance policies with the CASHIN terminal. These medical insurance packages are designed to give low income workers previously unaffordable cover including:
- accidental hospital cover for admission and treatment at any private hospital for up to R50,000
- accidental hospital cover at any state or provincial hospital (unlimited)
- illness and out-of-hospital benefits, entitling the policy holder to treatment at over 17,700 service providers countrywide
- R10,000 funeral cover, inceasing to R50,000 in the event of accidental death
- HIV/AIDS package including access to drugs and counselling
- Dentistry cover
- Optometry cover
The CASHIN terminal is an EMV certified payment terminal with innovative payment applications bundled together. Merchants can accept card payments, and can vend a range of airtime prepaid vouchers, as well as electricity vouchers from over 110 of the 200 odd prepaid electricity areas across South Africa.
The merchant benefits through the revenues generated by the sale of airtime and electricity, and also gives benefits to staff he was previously not able to.
CASHIN is a BEE compliant payments processing company operating in South Africa.
PREPAID SERVICES
Telecommunications and electricity service provisioning in South Africa have adopted prepaid services as a means of reducing bad debt resulting from non-payment of post-paid accounts. Prepaid services require a customer to pay an amount into the service account prior to receiving the service. In order for this to become easy and practical a technology solution was developed using 9 or 10 digit codes, generated cryptographically so that they can only be used once. Each code may be linked to a voucher with a specific denomination as used by mobile networks, or may denote a variable amount as used by the electricity services.
Since these codes can be generated and transmitted electronically it has become the widespread practice to distribute and vend the vouchers through a network of distributors and sub-distributors via electronic terminals.
The distribution network is offered a series of discounts on the face value of vouchers as an incentive. Thus it becomes possible to set up a multi-tiered network of distributors, all benefiting from the sales that take place below them in their portion of the network.
AFROPULSE creates such a distribution network branded CASHIN, and utilizes the same terminal used for the Mini ATM functionality at merchant POS to vend prepaid vouchers. The revenues from the discounts on prepaid vouchers combine to form a very healthy income for the merchant.
NOTE: Currently merchants do not accept card payments when vending especially electricity prepaid, because the discounts are lower than the bank rates on card terminals. With MiniATM it becomes possible to accept card payment because there is no merchant fee on the transaction.
Card Payments
AFROPULSE and its partners have developed software based on the ATM standards, but which run on a standard EFTPOS terminal branded CASHIN. This makes it possible for a cardholder to pay for goods or services at a merchant location using ATM functionality on the terminal rather than standard EFTPOS functionality. The reason for doing this is the differential in charges levied by the banking systems on the two types of transactions. Another major driver is the cost of transacting with cash. The costs of holding and depositing cash are enormous, especially in South Africa where banks typically charge between 0.4 and 1% cash deposit fees, and where the risk of robbery or theft of cash is such that cash insurance costs and cash transit services are very high.
CASHIN Product Benefits
• Additional revenues through airtime and electricity sales
• Reduced cash deposit fees
• Reduced cash insurance
• Reduced cash collection fees
• Reduced transaction fees
• Incremental revenue is stimulated as “feet in store” is generated
Target Customers
• Fuel Retailers
• Restaurants and Take Away Shops
• Community Service Containers
• Retail Outlets
• Hotel / Guest Houses
• Community Service Organisations
• Logistics Courier Services
• Services Industries
FUEL RETAILERS
In the fuel retailers’ environment, over 80% of transactions are cash. Merchants can now provide the facility to their customers in the comfort of their vehicle, offering the convenience of a one-stop shop.
RESTAURANTS AND TAKE AWAY’S
Customers, who prefer to transact using cash, are often limited by the availability of an ATM within the vicinity of a restaurant or take away. By providing this facility in house, these outlets increase sales.
CASH AND CARRY STORES
Allow customers to draw cash in store, hence increasing impulse purchases.
COMMUNITY SERVICES CONTAINERS
Allow customers to draw cash in order to make phone calls. In addition, provide a valuable community service in areas where banks are not available.
RETAIL OUTLETS
Retail outlets have one primary objective – feet in store. Mini ATM assists retailers in attracting customers into their environment.
HOTELS AND GUEST HOUSES
Provide foreign tourists with the facility to draw cash in a safe and secure environment.
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info[.]cashin.co.za 
