TCS | VezoPay on new South African-made payment ring

--:--
A new smart payment ring has been launched in South Africa – and it’s built by South Africans for South Africans.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS), TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod chats to VezoPay founders Jake Pinkus and Lawrence Baker about the launch of the ring – it’s available in three variants at launch – and what was behind the idea.
In the interview, they not only explain why they decided to build a payment ring, but also why they’re entering what could soon become a highly competitive market globally, with both Samsung Electronics and Apple expected to launch their own smart rings later this year.
Pinkus and Lawrence unpack:
• How long they’ve been working on the payment ring, and where the idea came from;
• How much research and development was involved, and who’s backing the innovation;
• How the technology works, and what exactly is inside the ring;
• The various options available at launch;
• How it works without having to be charged;
• How the security features work (without giving the game away);
• How VezoPay is working with South African banks;
• Whether the ring can be used for ticketing (concerts, Gautrain, etc);
• How much it costs;
• The potential competition from Samsung and Apple; and
• VezoPay’s plans to expand beyond South Africa’s borders.
Don’t miss the interview!
1 Jul English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

TCS | Sandile Dube on Equinix and South Africa’s data centre boom

Nasdaq-listed Equinix has completed construction of the first phase of a new data centre in Johannesburg, part of a R7.5-billion commitment to building cloud infrastructure in South Africa and the rest of the continent over the next five years. The company’s South African MD, Sandile Dube – a former country…
23 Oct 21 min

TCS | Lesaka’s Lincoln Mali on the fintech opportunity in South Africa

Lincoln Mali has been at the helm of Lesaka Technologies Southern Africa, a fintech with a sizeable footprint in Southern Africa’s informal markets, since 2021. One of his main tasks has been to turn the company’s finances around by reigning in business units that were haemorrhaging cash in the past…
23 Oct 22 min

TCS+ | Switchcom and Huawei forge new alliance

Networking equipment wholesaler Switchcom Distribution has partnered with Huawei Technologies to bring new offerings to the South African market and elsewhere in Africa. In this episode of TCS+, Lynton Brits, national sales manager at Switchcom, and Tanki Lebatla, account manager at Huawei, tell TechCentral’s TCS+ business technology show about the…
16 Oct 9 min

TCS+ | CYBER1 Solutions on choosing a managed security service provider

In this episode of TCS+, TechCentral speaks to CYBER1 Solutions executives Jayson O’Reilly, the company’s MD, and Akeel Sayed, head of its managed services division, about the benefits and challenges of using a managed security service provider (MSSP). The conversation starts by discussing the growing complexity of cybersecurity and the…
15 Oct 48 min

TCS | The Solly Malatsi interview – BEE, SOEs and Starlink

Communications minister Solly Malatsi, a DA MP and the first non-ANC politician to hold the key technology portfolio in the democratic era, has been in the job for three months – sufficient time to get a broad handle on the big issues. In this first interview with the TechCentral Show,…
9 Oct 43 min