Khumo, the latest and smartest card machine from payments and software company Yoco, is a locally designed innovation, driven by software that was developed by the company’s largely South African based internal teams. 

While Khumo, which means wealth, riches or abundance in Tswana, is manufactured in China, the final packaging and assembly of the card machine takes place in South Africa.

“Our technology is locally built, but we work with an international card terminal manufacturer to ensure to ensure we align with global quality and production standards, and to ensure cost efficiency,” says Yoco communications head Samantha Fuller.

The compact smart card machine is completely standalone and offers the fastest connectivity on a Yoco card machine, as it connects to the widely accessible 4G network speeds with unlimited data.

“This is the most affordable, smart card machine in South Africa, capable of processing tap, chip and pin, swipe, and digital mobile payments in under three seconds. We have also created a new version of the Yoco app, so that various tasks can be performed within the same card machine, from payments to viewing transactions, with safety and security in mind from beginning to end,” explains Fuller.

Over the last year, Khumo has been tested by small businesses operating in various industries and in almost every setting by entrepreneurs who are only starting their transition from cash to those who are familiar with card payments.

Built with and for merchants, Khumo has two built-in SIM cards that not only ensure a merchant has a reliable connection anywhere in South Africa but also enables merchants to connect to a Wi-Fi network.

Designed to provide merchants with enough battery life for a full business days’ worth of transactions, entrepreneurs can also start to securely accept card payments and access online financial tools within minutes after purchasing Khumo.      

Merchants using point of sale (POS) systems should take note that while Khumo currently does not offer any POS integration, the feature set of the Android-powered card machine will be expanded over its lifetime.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the South African economy and we believe it is our responsibility to enable them to thrive, driving our vision of open commerce forward. Our offering speaks directly to small businesses owing to the various products that we are able to offer (terminals and online payments), the speed at which we can transact and get devices in hand, and the cost at which we can provide them,” says the company.

Yoco has recently partnered with over 700 retail stores nationwide to allow more merchants access to affordable and efficient electronic card machines and the financial tools to start and run their businesses.

Further, Yoco believes in the principle of responsible innovation.

“It is our intention to make it as easy as possible for small businesses to begin accepting card payments as soon as possible, while simultaneously striving to adhere to the strictest standards of due diligence when identifying and verifying merchants that sign up to our platform.” 

Yoco considers itself well-positioned to support small business in South Africa, with 200 people employed globally and aims to grow this staff complement to more than 400 by the end of 2022.

The company has processed card payments valued at more than $2-billion, and the platform is now the preferred digital payments solution for more than 150 000 small and micro merchants across South Africa, processing more than $1-billion in payments a year.