Mxit staff have been using Gust wallets, which runs on iPhones with merchants on an iPad. When two devices are close to each other, the merchant can request a payment from the mobile phone user. Unlike other payment systems, which use geo-fencing logic, this does not need a GPS device or even a GSM connection.
It uses wifi, the user's name and photo to make a payment. Devices on the same wifi network will discover each other. All communication happens over the wifi network, which makes the payment process very fast.
"The idea with the project was to design a really quick and reliable mobile payment experience without NFC," says Joe Botha, CEO of TrustFabric.
It started out as an experiment with geo-fenced payment experiences in April 2012, when a small team built the Alpha version in six weeks.
"Merchants and users have been giving us very positive feedback. The plan is to make Stellenbosch the first city to offer free wifi and a go cashless," says Botha.
It is only available in Stellenbosch for now. For more, follow @GustPay on Twitter.
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