CHIPS is a revolutionary low cost, all-in-one, comprehensive financial solution that focuses on the protection and enhancement of savings while at the same time providing convenient and easy transacting capability – for both businesses and individuals alike. Unlike alternate services available, CHIPS users do not need a bank account.  This means it is an inclusive, affordable solution that is accessible to all South Africans as it empowers users to transact and save.

It bridges the current socio-economic gap in South Africa for those who do not have access to or cannot afford traditional financial offerings and those that are looking for alternative ways to use their money for everyday needs.  It does this by:

• Encouraging saving – CHIPS is a mechanism to help you save by storing your money safely and free of charge – while you receive interest, earn referral commission and get cash-back rewards offered by retailers or product manufacturers on your purchases.
• Providing transacting capability – CHIPS enables you transact electronically, similar to facilities available to bank customers but in real-time and at low cost, including, but not limited to:
  • Paying for products and services
  • Paying your bills
  • Buying airtime, data, electricity, bus tickets, etc – without leaving your home
  • Requesting payments from others
  • Sending money to others
  • Receiving payment from others, including salary, wages and donations
  • Creating a transaction history that serves as a record of your economic activity
  • Withdrawing cash at bank ATM, merchant point of sale or from other users
  • Transferring money to bank accounts and vice versa
• Empowering everyone with unrestricted access to quality financial services – CHIPS can be used by anyone with access to a mobile phone, irrespective of financial capacity or social standing.

The conceptualisation and design of CHIPS embodies our core beliefs.

For a consumer, CHIPS is a personal financial system that enables saving and income generation as well as receiving and spending money. 

For a business, CHIPS enables the acceptance of payments from its customers or its members using a CHIPS enabled mobile/web application, as well as from those who prefer making payments from their bank account.  For CHIPS users these payments can be very small (e.g. 10c) or large (e.g. R 1 000 000).

CHIPS is available to all - and users don’t need a bank account to benefit from CHIPS.  CHIPS provides a cheap, safe and fast payment method at the same cost and level of convenience to all individuals and businesses, irrespective of transaction ability or history. Because users take complete control of their money, saving and earning revenue, CHIPS challenges the traditional notion of fees in financial services and offers the first truly inclusive payment system available.

The figure below illustrates the core components of CHIPS.