Ozow integrates Nedbank Direct EFT API

Nedbank has announced Direct EFT, a new payment option available to payment platforms that they can make available to e-commerce websites.

The bank said its Direct EFT product lets online shoppers make payments directly from their Nedbank account without entering their card details or providing their online banking login details to a third-party instant EFT provider.

Ozow, a major instant EFT systems provider in South Africa, said it has integrated the Nedbank Direct EFT API into its own Pay-by-Bank product.

Ozow said its alliance with Nedbank was facilitated through a proprietary open banking payments interface.

“By enabling Ozow’s system to function as a conduit, while ensuring all customer data remains secure within the bank’s ecosystem, we’ve achieved a perfect blend of speed and security,” Ozow technical operations  head Coenie Louw said.

Nedbank explained that open banking provides third-party financial service providers with open, permission-based access to consumer banking.

It also enables controlled access to financial data, such as transactions from financial institutions.

Nedbank said open banking is considered a key way to democratise financial services, as it gives consumers more choices in how they manage their money.

“EFT payments are the second most popular way to pay online, and we have seen a steady growth in the number of clients choosing this option at checkout,” said Nedbank senior specialist for emerging payments Thabiso Wessie.

“Now, as one of the first banks to leverage Open Banking technology to deliver a new level of secure and easy EFT payments, Nedbank is directly addressing clients’ needs in online transactions.”