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  • 1-2-Pay-Online – Virtual Prepaid credit card

    I met up with the guys the other night, while I was I Joburg, from a new startup company called 1-2-Pay-Online. They offer very unique service which allows you to top up a one time virtual credit card that can be used for online shopping on South African sites.

    The service is pretty unique in that you are instantly provided with your card number, expiry date & CCV number. First you need to top up your 1-2-Pay-Online account with any amount you want, and then from there, you can top the card up to a maximum of R200 for each use (they are looking at increasing this) from the account. Whatever is not used is then returned back into your “holding” account. Once you have requested the card you can download a PDF of the card with the first 12 number while the last 4 digits are SMS’d to you, minimizing the risk of fraud.

    We tested this out by buying an iTunes Voucher from EvoPoints and had absolutely no issues at all. Payment went through without any issues and I received the voucher instantly. This is a handy type of service if you need to buy something online, but don’t want to risk exposing your credit card, or if you need to be “discreet” with some of your purchases

    The guys are working a couple of exciting products, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with next.

    Disclaimer: I have previously advised 1-2-Pay-Online on some Social Media strategy, but this has in no way affected the above blog post

     

  • 80.5% of Facebook users in South Africa access via Mobile

    I came across a very interesting stat today which shows how important Mobile is in South Africa. According to the latest Facebook Mobile stats at Socialbakers.com, Facebook now has 54% of it’s users accessing the platform via Mobile.

    In South Africa, 80.5% of Facebook users access the Facebook network via Mobile ! That is HUGE !! We have around 4.5 million (the 34th biggest “Facebook Country”) registered Facebook users in South Africa and that means around 3.62 million of them are accessing via the Mobile Facebook site or apps. There are only 2 other countries, Brunei & Nigeria that beat us,with Nigeria at 81.2%

    Here is the full infographic from Socialbakers.com

  • FNB Launches Geo Payments

    I have previously chatted about the awesome FNB iPhone app, and they have just released an amazing update to the app that allows you to recieve GeoPayments. What does that mean ?

    Well, now you can recieve money INSTANTLY from anyone who uses the FNB app within a 500m radius. So, if you out for example and you don’t have your wallet, or need extra cash, you can simply get a mate to transfer you money without giving you an account number. You simply open the app, find the person around you, put in an amount, and the amount is instantly deposited into their account !

    I did a little test last night between myself & the wife and it worked like a charm. Seriously. No mess, No fuss !

    I am always blown away by the innovation at FNB, and I can honestly say this one is one of the best so far. I can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeves next !!

  • I got featured in the Sunday Tribune

    If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may have seen this already ;) On Sunday I got featured in the KZN paper the Sunday Tribune in a section called KZN Business. Each week they looking at some “movers & shakers” in the KZN business scene, and I was fortunate enough to get asked to share my story.

    The article covers how I landed up at Private Property and what is in store for the future. Really stoked with the way it came out.

    You can click on the article below to get a full version if you want to have a read ;) A huge thanks to Alan Cooper for the very cool writeup

    You can also read the full story on Alan’s posterous page – http://geekbeard.posterous.com/meet-mr-mobile-marc-forrest

  • NURTURE, an Instagram exhibition in Cape Town

    On 27 May the guys from Instagramers Cape Town will be presenting a digital exhibition for TEDx TableMountain.

    Images will be displayed on screens at the convention.

    The theme for the the exhibition is: NURTURE, Exploring the relationship between Man, Technology and Nature.

    The exhibition is open to all South African Instagramers.

    For more info check out the Instagramers Cape Town’s Facebook page or follow @igerscapetown on Instagram for more info on what looks to be an awesome event !