South African smart card firm to set up HQ in Swansea
A SOUTH AFRICAN company developing the technology and pioneering the growth of prepaid smart card systems is setting up its headquarters in Swansea.
Augusta Holdings is one of the key international players in this field of financial technology and has already had considerable success in Africa where its prepaid smart card system is currently being rolled out.
The Welsh Assembly Government, through the Single Investment Fund and Finance Wales, which has taken a 20% equity stake in the operation, is supporting the newly-formed UK businesses – Augusta Systems Research and Development and Softech Systems.
The company’s decision to move to Wales is to take advantage of a potentially major market in the UK and Europe. Augusta Holdings is initially setting up a research and development team to drive forward the technology with plans to establish an operations support centre later on.
Marketing and alliances manager John Beer explained: “The Augusta system uses smart prepaid cards which give traders a mechanism to reward customers with loyalty vouchers or discounts.
“Prepaid cards also reduce the amount of money taken out of local economies through cash management fees and bank charges which are incurred when cash or credit and debit cards are used. Prepaid cards are particularly useful for paying for goods under £10, making them ideal for use in markets.
“We see a great opportunity to integrate the benefits of our system with existing smart-card systems such as the over 60s transport card or bus pass which is currently used by eight million people, London’s oyster cards and the growing number of local authority cards used to access council services.”
Augusta is also one of the first companies to benefit from the Prince of Wales Innovation Scholarship (POWIS), which is managed by the University of Wales and provides funding for postgraduate students to work on research projects in Welsh businesses.
The scheme has enabled it to attract one of South Africa’s leading open systems architects to undertake key research and development.
Augusta has recruited graduates through ITWales and is also appointing a post-graduate from Swansea University under a 20-week Knowledge Transfer Partnership designed to drive innovation in the UK by encouraging businesses to tap into the expertise in academic institutions.
It involves a three-way partnership between a graduate, an enterprise of any size and an academic institution. The programme part funds the employment of high-calibre graduates, or associates, to work with companies on specific projects that are vital for their strategic development.
Source: WalesOnline
