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Just a few days back, FNB was triumphantly announcing that folks could use SnapScan, as well as Zapper, to pay at retailers using its Speedpoint payment terminals, as part of the Scan to Pay system.

In the COVID-19 age, using QR code payment apps is becoming increasingly appealing, and FNB Merchant Services CEO, Thokozani Dlamini, said on Friday that the bank had fast-tracked the rollout of QR code payments for “enhanced convenience and safety”.

More from the FNB statement via IT News Africa:

Scan to Pay is powered by Masterpass, Mastercard’s digital payment service, which is interoperable with almost every major domestic QR Code payment service. Therefore, consumers will be able to use any compatible mobile QR Code scanning App including FNB Scan to Pay, Snapscan and Zapper.

Yeah, so about those last two.

It turns out that FNB may have jumped the gun just a touch, because you actually cannot use SnapScan at present, with Zapper soon to follow suit.

In the case of the former, SnapScan CEO Chris Zietsman told Business Insider SA that it will be added to the list of payment options in the coming months.

Zapper is clearly less enthused and has pulled out of the Speedpoint terminals completely, which comes into effect from October 25, and CEO Brett White made it clear in a statement to Business Insider SA that the relationship hadn’t panned out well thus far:

“The interoperability agreement between ourselves and Masterpass began with the intention of broadening the network for both parties…

“However, the way in which the interoperability was implemented, introduced some unintended consequences, primarily the introduction of friction into our standard payment experience, the cannibalisation of our outlets and the disintermediation of the market.”

Clearly, this has been a less than smooth rollout, with Jason Viljoen, FNB’s head of digital payments, calling the situation  “very unfortunate”.

You can read the rest of that article here.

Given that you can still use your bank card to pay, along with cash, I’m sure you’ll find a way to settle your bill.

Onwards and upwards you go.

[sources:itnewsafrica&businsidersa]