Knowing your rights is important. As a consumer, it’s vital to know what you’re entitled to so that you can stand up for yourself if you ever have to. In South Africa, we have nine consumer rights:
- Right to equality in the consumer market and protection against discriminatory marketing practices.
- Right to privacy.
- Right to choose.
- Right to disclosure of information.
- Right to fair and responsible marketing.
- Right to fair and honest dealing.
- Right to fair, just and reasonable terms and conditions.
- Right to fair value, good quality and safety.
- Right to accountability from suppliers.
But, before South Africans can even entertain the thought of exercising these rights, they need to be empowered to be consumers. They need to be given the power to pay.
Bank account holders vs card holders
It’s estimated that seven out of eight South Africans have bank accounts, and only one out of eight have a credit card. This means that very few South Africans have the power of choice when it comes to how, and where, they want to pay. That doesn’t sit well with us at Ozow.
That’s why our mission is to close the digital divide and create greater financial inclusion. Through our products and services, we strive to give every South African with a bank account the ability to make payments easily, quickly and safely. In so doing, we’re enabling more South Africans to enter the formal economy, and giving them more room to exercise their consumer rights, while helping our country move away from being a cash-first society.
This means access
If there is less reliance on cash, and more reliance on digital transactions, it means there will be a higher demand for alternative places to pay. If people can’t exchange cold, hard cash for goods, how will they transact? The obvious answer is online. That’s where Ozow can make a significant impact. By moving more South Africans into the digital economy, they have more access to services they’ve never had before, which can potentially have a big impact on their lives. Think online grocery shopping, so that a whole day doesn’t need to be spent travelling to shops, and transport fees don’t need to be paid.
But it’s not just shopping that we’re making more convenient. It’s payment in general – think bills, fines, rent and even takeaways. To give Ozow a try, and see just how convenient it is, check out our demo page.
