A Look at Absa’s Contactless “Tap” Functionality, How it works

Absa Bank is a digitally-led bank that is adapting to an evolving digital economy. From introducing a fully digital bank branch, to developing an Absa Chatbot to now their new introduced Absa Novox mobile application and a ‘Contactless Tap Functionality on its Vertical Visa Debit Cards’ – that we shall be looking at in this article. All this is to ease on its customers banking experience – offering Absa customers greater convenience through self-service at automated digital platforms.

For instance the Absa Chatbot, a revolutionary customer service solution that gives customers access to 24/7 instant replies to asked questions via WhatsApp and the bank’s webpage. While using WhatsApp the customer is able to bank without ever having to leave the app. Genuinely speaking, it is a good innovation as the customer is able to handle multiple tasks at the same time.

We however brief explore on the bank’s “Contactless Tap Functionality”, a recent feature that was added on their Vertical Visa Debit Cards. It gives Absa customers the ability to pay for their products/services by simply ‘tapping’ their card on a contactless enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminal once the card has been enabled.

The feature is introduced at a time the world is fighting coronavirus.

Ms. Annette Kiconco, Absa Bank Uganda’s Ag. Retail Banking Director, says, “With convenience and safety being one of the key trends in modern consumer culture and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Absa’s contactless feature responds to both these consumer needs.”

So, how does this functionality work?

Firstly, you need to get your card to support this feature. Here’s how;

Insert your card into an Absa payment device or ATM, and enter your PIN. You will have to perform up to two more chip-and-PIN transactions to enable the card for contactless tap payments. You won’t need to use the PIN again only if you don’t exceeded the daily transaction limit or daily number of transactions.

The card’s daily transaction limit for the contactless card is UGX100,000. Any amount above UGX100,000 will require a PIN to confirm payment(s). In addition, the feature supports 4 transactions per day, therefore if the customer goes beyond the designated 4 time limit, they will also require a PIN to complete payment.

Once enabled, you can start making payments at ease. You will experience shorter queues and quicker ‘check-out’ at stores.

1. At any outlet; supermarkets, salons, beauty shops, fuel stations, boutiques, restaurants, pharmacies or any other merchant with an Absa point-of-sale (POS) terminal, ask the cashier/teller if you can pay using your contactless card.
2. The cashier initiates the payment on their system for the transaction to take place.
3. The customer then holds their card over the Absa contactless-enabled POS terminal at least 2mm from the terminal to make the payment. There will be no need to enter the PIN, and you can get a receipt at request.

The innovation not only benefits the customers but the merchants as well. The feature is swift giving merchants time to handle more customers in a queue.