Nampost Tourist smart card launched

NAMPOST Savings Bank has launched a Tourist Smart Card which will enable tourists to reduce the amount of cash they have to use and, therefore, reduce the risk of their cash getting lost or stolen. The card can be used to withdraw or deposit cash and pay for fuel, vehicle rental, accommodation and grocery purchases, as well as to buy pre-paid airtime at any Post Office point of sale.

The card can also be used to transfer money from one card to another and to pay any accounts at any bank. The Tourist Smart card does not have a magnetic strip like normal debit and credit cards as it is driven by a micro chip. This means that no authorization call is needed for a transaction.

The Tourist Card is in essence a Smartcard and the money is on a micro chip. (Almost like a “pre paid” card). This means that every transaction is immediately deducted from the balance on the card and no calls are necessary. The Smart Card can, therefore, function in an offline environment. Another important feature is that no PIN number is necessary as the card is activated by the cardholder’s fingerprint.

The card can, therefore, not be cloned and the cardholder does not have to remember the PIN number. If the card gets lost or stolen, it is useless to anyone and Nampost will simply re-activate it and upload the money. Funds can also be deposited via the Nampost bank account directly into the card once opened. This is also applicable to overseas transfers.

Foreign Exchange can also be converted into Namibian currency and deposited. On completion of the tour the tourist can close the account and transfer the funds back overseas via the Nampost system. The point of sale device is small, portable and connects to the system host via an analogue telephone line or GPRS using a MTC tango or LEO card.

The cardholder only needs to go online to upload deposits or otherwise to bank once a day.

Tourist Card Fees:
 
The Tourist Card costs N$50-00. If the card is returned undamaged when the tourist leaves Namibia, a refund of N$15-00 will be made.

Transaction fees are very low:
 
Cash deposit fees: 60 cents per N$100-00 with a maximum of N$200 as oppose to the fees of N$1-50 per N$100-00 of other financial institutions with no maximum.

Withdrawal fee:
 
N$4.37 per withdrawal Transacting at a merchant: N$3.71 per transaction.

Point of Sale:
 
Monthly rental: N$325- 00 (first 3 months free) Transaction commission 1.% excluding VAT.

How can a Tourist obtain a card?
 
A card can be obtained at any of Nampost’s 128 post offices countrywide and can be issued in 10 minutes. Tour Operators can contact the Nampost head office to arrange for a business promoter to visit them in order to complete the administrative side of the application. For the opening of an account Nampost only needs to make a copy of the passport.