Zazoo - Safer And Quicker Ways To Pay For Goods And Services

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ZAZOO is a collection of technology companies that provides innovative and accessible payment solutions and transaction processing services, primarily mobile banking, MNO solutions, cryptography, smart card technologies and third party payments. Below is our interview with Philip Belamant, Managing Director at ZAZOO:

Q: Philip, how does Zazoo differ from other payment companies?

A: In the fast paced world of FinTech, there are many players aggressively entering the mobile payment space, and as a result the market has become quite fragmented. In a bid to enter the market first, we find that these players utilize other businesses’ current infrastructure and systems to build on their offerings with speed – the problem being that this goes against the very principle of disruption (how do you dynamically change something without fundamentally understanding how it works? If you know this, it becomes easier for you to deliver something to the consumer that is truly different at a price point that is genuinely disruptive).

With the above said, it is easier to answer the question, how does ZAZOO differ from other payment companies?

Whilst much of the market is trying to change the way payments work (not to mention the infrastructure too), we focus on interoperability, using what has already been built and implemented. We have a proprietary payment technology that piggy backs on EMV ensuring that we can offer a product that is pervasively adopted from day one but is fundamentally more powerful than what exists today.

We aren’t planning to do it, we ARE doing it. The ZAZOO team has been involved in the payments industry for more than 15 years. Our systems and products are tried and tested and used by millions of people! We process large amounts of transactions daily, and our products are relevant the world over.

We have spent an enormous amount of time and effort ensuring that we understand the space we are in and own the entire value chain of our offering – everything from the mask on the CHIP, to the app on the mobile device, to the integration to an MNO, to the integration with Master Card or VISA, to the card management system, to the hardware security module we use for cryptography – is all developed, built and maintained by ZAZOO. Owning the value chain allows us to deliver truly unique products at the best possible price.

Our management team offers a seasoned blend of visionary innovation that has been the foundation of our payment technology solutions, all successfully adopted in developed and developing markets worldwide. Our knowledge and experience over years of breaking the mold in the payments sector globally means that we can provide significant value add and relevant insight to our diverse customer base.

Q: Tell us something more about your patented Mobile Virtual Card (MVC) technology?

A: MVC technology found its feet in the emerging markets of the world, which made it an important requirement that MVC technology could function in areas with little or no connectivity. Such a requirement heralded the development of a secure payment technology that allows the user to generate a virtual credit card that is internationally accepted, offline. These offline cards are then only exposed at the time of transacting and can be configured to expire straight after the transaction has occurred, thus significantly reducing the security risk typically associated with credit cards in the CNP (card not present) space.

Q: What would be the advantage of a Card Not Present (CNP) transaction compared with physical card payments, and how is it secured?

A: As more and more services are offered in the online space, CNP transacting continues to increase at a tremendous rate. Whether the consumer wishes to purchase something online, link their card to an app or buy something on a kindle or the app store, a CNP transaction has to take place. So whilst this is all very convenient to the consumer, the fraud in the CNP space has doubled year on year.

A card utilized online is at risk for similar fraudulent practices as those used with brick and mortar merchants, such as theft, skimming and cloning. The major issue with is that often the card information is stored online, and being online they are accessible from anywhere in the world, and therefore vulnerable to hackers. Our goal with MVC technology has been to reduce, if not completely remove, the need to expose your card online and use persistent card information that can be stored on a server or database; thus reducing the risk of your information being acquired and your funds being stolen.

The convenience of online purchases will ensure that CNP transacting continues to grow at a remarkable rate, and our aim is to ensure that the consumer can enjoy this convenience without the worry of being defrauded.

Q: More generally, how do you see the cryptocurrency landscape developing, and where do you place yourself in the industry?

A: Cryptocurrency is still in the infancy stage. Major investors continue to pour massive venture capital into its development which is an indicator that there is huge growth potential as the currency continues to mature. Right now our place within the current cryptocurrency environment is about enablement – enabling holders of cryptocurrency to find ways to monetize what they hold. As an example, ZAZOO has teamed up with BitX, a leading universal Bitcoin platform, making it possible for Bitcoin users to spend their cryptocurrency anywhere online or in-app, exclusively using VCpayTM, ZAZOO’s patented MVC technology.

Q: What are your plans for the future?

A: We strive to enable previously unbanked or underbanked markets with access to mobile payments, contributing to financial inclusion. Therefore, we see our technology being an enabler in a world where anyone can spend any of their money (or wealth) anywhere they want, at any time. This should mean that both the banked and unbanked could wake up tomorrow morning and decide to buy something online, and they should be able to do that.

With the ongoing demand for safer and quicker ways to pay for goods and services, both in the physical and digital world, we aim to be a global technology partner that enables payment.

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