UK paytech Ryft introduces in-person card payments to St Helena
UK-based paytech Ryft, working with the St Helena government, has introduced in-person Visa and Mastercard card payments to the remote island for the first time.
Ryft brings card payments to St Helena
St Helena is a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean with a population of just under 4,500. Ryft says the island’s remoteness and small size means it has “historically struggled” to access international payment platforms.
Businesses on the island, which predominantly operate on cash, will now be able to accept in-person, real-time electronic card payments through Ryft. The company adds it has “worked to develop a bespoke and streamlined application and onboarding process to account for the fact that St Helena’s local laws and practices differ from the UK’s”.
Tourists on the island could previously only transact in cash with Sterling or St Helena pounds (which is tied to GBP), and cash withdrawals were only possible at the Bank of St Helena or the neighbouring Ascension island at a 5% fee.
Mark Brooks, minister for the treasury, infrastructure, and sustainable development portfolio at the St Helena government, says digital transformation is “at the heart” of its economic growth plans as the island looks to recover from the tourism blows from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We couldn’t accept any longer the barriers our cash-based economy put in front of cruise passengers and other tourists, limiting their ability and appetite to spend with our local businesses,” Brooks says. “Many larger companies simply aren’t interested in the challenge of solving problems like these in circumstances like ours.”
Brooks adds that Ryft was “innovative and agile enough to take an interest” and find the island a solution.
