Absa Card Introduces Planet Payment's Pay in Your Currency(TM) Service in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- South Africa will welcome almost half a million tourists during June and July of 2010. These visitors are in for an unforgettable experience; beautiful scenery, divergent cultures, world class hospitality and the big five are just some of the wonders they will enjoy.

Banking analysts say the volume and value of card transactions will go through the roof as these visitors swipe their cards for purchases at hotels, restaurants and general retailers. One of the risks to foreign visitors is they don't know how much they're spending in Euros, Pounds or Dollars, until they get their card statements, often a month  after they have made their purchases. Absa Card has partnered with Planet Payment to bring Pay in Your Currency™ also referred to in the industry as Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), to South Africa to address this concern.

The Pay in Your Currency service will provide Absa merchants with the ability to present the international consumer with a choice of paying in Rand, or completing the purchase in any one of the 30 supported foreign currencies.   This service enables the merchant to improve client service, thereby aiding their volume growth whilst at the same time increasing their operating margins.  

"At the highest level, the value proposition and benefit of Pay in Your Currency is simple," says Donn Engelbrecht, Director, Acquiring and Commercial Cards at Absa Card. "Cardholders intuitively prefer to make buying decisions in their home currency."

The process ensures foreign exchange transaction transparency by converting Rand amounts into the cardholder's home currency at point of sale. The sale amount is agreed and verified by the cardholder using either a PIN or signature. Further, merchants gain access to Planet Payment's best-in-class analytics and reporting package, which allows for the complete reporting and reconciliation of all transactions through a single, easy-to-use, web-based interface.

Absa Card decided to introduce the technology after extensive consultation with Barclays, the majority owner of Absa. Barclays (through Barclaycard) has been offering a DCC solution in European countries for a number of years. "Based on merchants and cardholders readily adopting the service in Europe, it is reasonable to assume that cardholders would enjoy similar benefits in South Africa," says Engelbrecht  

Absa Card Acquiring is the first to offer the DCC solution in South Africa. Their vision is to own the world of simple payment by providing a differentiated point of sale offering to merchants, ensuring 'feet in store' and improving cardholders' experiences.

"We are excited to enter the South African market with such a strong partner as Absa, especially in advance of a significant global event" added Philip Beck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Planet Payment.  "The adoption of Pay in Your Currency continues its steady climb as more merchants around the world have enjoyed increased sales and higher levels of customer satisfaction, while realising higher profitability."  

Absa Card's Card Acquiring division is rolling out Pay in Your Currency with a trial of the simple payment solution at selected Absa Card merchants beginning in April 2010. Absa anticipates rolling out the solution to Absa Card merchants nationally starting the second half of April.

Tourists visiting South Africa will be able to pay in their own currency wherever they see the Pay in Your Currency sign.

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How Pay In Your Currency works in practice

A British family enjoys a leisurely lunch at a fine local restaurant. After the meal their waiter will bring the credit card machine to the table. When an international card is used for payment, the card machine will display a choice to pay in either South African Rand or Pounds Sterling, say R700.68 or 58.39 pounds Sterling (assuming R12.00 to the Pound Sterling). The final step is for the cardholder to select the currency and accept the transaction by entering his PIN to confirm the currency selection. .

About Absa

The Absa Group Limited (Absa), headquartered in Johannesburg and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), is one of South Africa's largest financial services groups, offering a comprehensive range of banking, assurance and wealth management products and services. Absa's business is conducted primarily in South Africa.

In addition to this, the Group has equity holdings in banks in Mozambique and Tanzania.

At 31 December 2009 the Absa Group had 718.2 million shares issued and a market capitalisation of R92.29 billion.

At 31 December 2009, Absa had assets of R717.9 billion, 1,062 points of presence, 11 million customers, 8,166 ATMs and 36,920 permanent employees.

Absa is a subsidiary of Barclays Bank plc, which holds a stake of 55,5% in the Group. Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services with an extensive international presence in Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia.

For more information, please visit the Absa website: www.absa.co.za

About Planet Payment®:

Planet Payment's Common shares trade in the United Kingdom on AIM under the symbols PPT for unrestricted Common shares and PPTR for Reg S Common shares and in the United States on the OTCQX under the symbol PLPM.

Planet Payment is a leading international payment and data processor, providing banks and their merchants with innovative solutions to accept, process and reconcile payments, anytime, anywhere and in any currency. Our customer base of more than 40 acquiring banks and processors stretches from North America, to the Middle East, to Asia Pacific, including China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia and India.

Planet Payment is headquartered in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Beijing, Bermuda, Delaware, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. Visit www.planetpayment.com for more information on the Company and its services.

SOURCE Planet Payment