Smart move by Augusta to develop pre paid card systems
A South African company at the forefront of prepaid smart card technology and pioneering its growth is setting up its headquarters in Swansea.
Augusta Holdings is one of the key international players in financial technology and has already had considerable success in Africa where its prepaid smart card system is currently being rolled out.
The Welsh Assembly Government, through the Single Investment Fund and Finance Wales, which has taken a 20% equity stake in the operation, is supporting the newly-formed UK businesses – Augusta Systems Research and Development and Softech Systems.
Augusta Holdings is initially setting up a research and development team to drive forward the technology with plans to establish an operations support centre later on.
Marketing and alliances manager John Beer said the principles behind the Augusta prepaid card system are similar to the transition town movement where the aim is to keep money within local economies, to support local communities and local business.
“The Augusta system uses smart prepaid cards which give traders a mechanism to reward customers with loyalty vouchers or discounts.
“Prepaid cards also reduce the amount of money taken out of local economies through cash management fees and bank charges which are incurred when cash or credit and debit cards are used. Prepaid cards are particularly useful for paying for goods under £10, making them ideal for use in markets.
“We see a great opportunity to integrate the benefits of our system with existing smart-card systems such as the over 60s transport card or bus pass which is currently used by eight million people.”
Augusta is also one of the first companies to benefit from the Prince of Wales Innovation Scholarship (POWIS)1, which is managed by the University of Wales and provides funding for postgraduate students to work on research projects in Welsh businesses.
Augusta is also appointing a post-graduate from Swansea University under a 20-week Knowledge Transfer Partnership designed to drive innovation in Wales by encouraging businesses to tap into the expertise in academic institutions.
For further information on POWIS please refer to the article in the October 09 edition of the Financial & Business Services e-Newsletter.
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21 January 2010
Source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk
