South Africa’s Nedbank has launched a mobile point-of-sale device that can accept credit and debit card payments, the latest bank in the country to target small businesses with such a product.

The bank’s new device is called PocketPOS and connects to a smartphone or tablet through which transactions are authenticated and processed. The device is linked to the mobile device via Bluetooth.

Other South African banks with similar products either in the market, or in the process of being launched, include Absa and rival First National Bank. The latter is offering a device from UK firm Powa.

The Nedbank device can read both magnetic stripe and chip & PIN cards. Initially it will work with only iPhones and iPads, with Android and BlackBerry devices to follow in coming months. The device accepts Visa, MasterCard and American Express cards.

The device would enable those businesses who currently handle large amounts of cash to accept card payments, so reducing their security risk. It also reduces the charges they incur for depositing cash into a bank account, although obviously they now incur a new processing charge from the bank.