Geo-fencing opens account

Gust, South Africa's first geo-fenced mobile payments system released a beta version of its app and expanded its footprint to Cape Town.

GustPay is a Stellenbosch startup which is part of the World of Avatar group and closely
linked to TrustFabric.

"One of our goals with Gust was to create the fastest in-shop mobile payment system. Where a standard card payment can take two minutes, we can complete a full payment experience in under 10 seconds, " says Joe Botha, founder of GustPay.

The Beta version of Gust runs on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPads and the app should be available in the Apple App Store in the next few days. An Android app is under development and a BlackBerry version is in planning stages.

"We've been pleasantly surprised by the support from the local representatives of big industry players such as Apple, LG and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion, sending us development hardware for each of their platforms," says Botha.

"In building the latest version of the app we focused on the enrolment process, close integration with TrustFabric, an updated UI design and included additional security and privacy enhancements," says Botha.

Gust is currently only available in Stellenbosch and Cape Town. Merchants are mostly coffee shops and restaurants. As part of the Beta program GustPay installs a Wi-Fi hotspot and an iPad with a casing and key lock at each merchant's shop. The merchant app can also run on iPod Touch or iPhone.

While in Beta all the money in the Gust ecosystem comes from staff lunch or coffee programs. Participating companies in Stellenbosch and Cape Town give their employees a monthly Gust allowance.

"In Beta we rely on the existing trust relationship between companies, their staff and the shops they visit for lunch on a regular basis. This is the ideal testing environment and beneficial for everybody involved," says Botha.

"Gust offers a more human payment experience. Users pay with their name, two taps and a swipe. We like to think this fosters a natural sense of loyalty and builds better relationships between store owners and their regular customers," says Botha.

Merchants and companies interested in joining the Gust Beta program can get in touch with GustPay here: http://www.gustpay.com/

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