Paystream Partners with SOS Children's Villages to Facilitate Cashless Payments in Drought Affected Kenya

LONDON, October 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

SOS Children's Villages Kenya has appointed Paystream Limited (http://www.paystream.co.ke/) as its preferred provider of a smart card based payment initiative in Marsabit.

Paystream, in partnership with sQuid, have provided a solution, whereby the people of Northern Kenya, affected by severe drought and famine, are issued with a contactless card. These cards can only be used at charity approved stores and outlets for the purchase of food supplies, as intended by Aid agencies and their donors, and will help to ensure that aid gets to the right people and is spent on what it is intended for.

The traditional method used to distribute food aid is cash based, which brings with it a multitude of complications, often resulting in the misappropriation of funds. Logistical problems and the high cost of transporting supplies to remote villages demand more efficient solutions.

SOS Children's Villages (http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/) and Paystream have been working together with the local community and shop owners to devise a card that is loaded with value and can be used at specified POS terminals supplied to the stores. It allows villagers to purchase supplies directly from the shops in their areas. Communities are educated as to how the system works, the money that each holds and the kind of food stuff that they are allowed to purchase from the shops. Payments are secure, fast and efficient, significantly reducing the administration previously required by SOS to ensure the funds go where they are most needed.

All card based transactions will originate from approved card holders to POS devices deployed by Paystream to appointed stores.

SOS Children's Villages' portal sets descriptions and payment details for the shopkeepers. Simple and intuitive, data can be easily exported into SOS packages for quick and easy accounts reconciliation and visibility of payees.

Sam Ndegwa, CEO of Paystream Limited, said:

We are delighted to partner with SOS Children's Villages and to be able to come up with a safe, reliable card based solution to help food aid get to the right people. The benefits of being able to pay by smart card are endless, not only is it convenient, but the automated payments offer security for the merchant and SOS, and makes for easy monitoring, and management reconciliation. We are currently trialing for 6 months with three stores in Marsabit, but are looking to roll similar programs out further across East Africa"

More importantly the solution is commercially viable for any company that wishes to remove cash from its transaction processing and replace it with an accountable and less risky mode of payment. These cards are mainly used in other countries in the transport industry, fast foods and ticketing environments. Paystream intends to introduce this concept in a big way across East Africa.

For further information, please contact:
Sam Ndegwa, CEO Paystream Ltd - +254-20-2519600/1/2 / sam@paystream.co.ke
Graham Gilmour, CEO The Business Phone - +44(0)7764-575-372 / graham@thebusinessphone.com