TCS to drive Rapid Payments Program for BankservAfrica

TCS BaNCS, the financial solution platform of the IT services major Tata Consultancy Services, is now all set to help BankservAfrica, to drive the Rapid Payments Programme (RPP).

RPP is a national initiative to introduce the next-gen, easy-to-use, real-time retail payments systems in South Africa. RPP primary aims to set up the instant payments and usage of the proxy resolution for easier addressability and the ability to initiate payments using a request to pay.

Jan Pilbauer, the CEO, BankservAfrica, said, "Following our rigorous selection process, TCS BaNCS emerged as the natural fit, matching our key criteria for fit-for-purpose and ability to deliver. In addition to having the best technology stack, they have had major success in innovating in India’s payments ecosystem and will no doubt support us in bringing some of this experience to South Africa. This comes at a time where economic recovery is critical, and the industry needs to catch up to the digital changes in the economy. With TCS’ technology, we are well-positioned to expedite the launch of a modern, easy-to-use, and efficient payments platform that caters to lower value transactions at an affordable cost for the benefit of all South Africans."

R Vivekanand, Co-Head, TCS Financial Solutions, said, "TCS BaNCS has seen wide adoption and success in the South African financial services industry, with the country’s top 8 financial institutions and the South African Depository running on our solutions. As BankservAfrica looks to set new standards for real-time payments and financial inclusion in South Africa, TCS BaNCS for Market Infrastructure will help create a modern, high-performance, open central payments infrastructure. We are happy to be a partner in this exciting purpose-led transformation and are committed to delivering innovative solutions leveraging TCS BaNCS and Quartz in the country."

BankservAfrica selected TCS BaNCS to roll out a market infrastructure solution to create a modernized, open central payments infrastructure. Once implemented the infrastructure will enable real-time payments and unlock innovation across the multiple industries in the country, notes the announcement.

For proxy resolution, BankservAfrica also intends to use TCS' Quartz Smart Ledgers, built on a decentralized or the distributed architecture. BankservAfrica customers are expected to benefit from a scalable, secure, and real-time solution for the account information.

The Quartz KYC (Know Your Customer) / AML (Anti-Money Laundering) solution claim to offer real-time fraud management capabilities to facilitate transaction monitoring and screening notes the announcement.