South African company Nomanini has created a mobile point of sale terminal and cloud-based distribution platform that is fundamentally changing the nature of the prepaid voucher industry in informal markets.

This is according to the latest case study from the GSMA, the global association that represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide.

According to the case study, Nomanini is driving this change by enabling prepaid voucher distributors (including for mobile airtime, electricity and water) as retailers in informal markets to move away from the costly physical distribution of scratch cards in favour of faster, cheaper and less risky virtual distribution methods.

This approach enables informal retailers to respond immediately to consumer demand, and reduces the time and cost associated with restocking scratch cards, helping vendors create a more sustainable income.

As detailed in the case study, a user-centric attitude to product design, scalable technology and close partnerships with distributors are fundamental to the platform’s success.

Nomanini has 750 terminals operating across Africa – in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia – and is actively expanding geographically. It is also broadening its solutions portfolio to serve new payment needs, including transport ticketing and financial services.

The company was recently named one of 16 Top Innovation Concepts 2014 by Accenture.