Huawei’s mobile payment system Huawei Pay which is operational in some European markets and in China is set to launch in South Africa in 2019. Akhram Mohamed, Huawei South Africa’s CTO confirmed the date during the launch of Huawei Mate 20 Pro in Kyalami.
Huawei Pay is a mobile payment platform similar to Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, which enables users to tap and pay using their smartphone instead of using their bank card. These platforms are compatible with card payment terminals and are secured by strong cryptography and biometric authentication.
Huawei has been in talks with financial institutions for a while in order to finalize all procedures and regulatory processes required for the launch. GDPR and POPI compliance have also contributed to delaying the launch of Huawei Pay. “We also need to make sure we comply with POPI to ensure that we are future proof and have compliance”, Mohamed explained.
“We’re finding that we have a few capabilities that are either on par or a step ahead of what competitors are offering and what financial institutions are offering,” he added. “In saying that”, Mohamed continued, “It could be a competing product with the financial institution we’re trying to partner with”.