Latest news with #DCSP
Daily Maverick
15-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Stitch Group acquires Efficacy Payments, secures DCSP designation to offer card acquiring services
Digital payments company Efficacy has been acquired by the Stitch Group, enabling it to become one of the first fintechs to offer direct card clearing services in the market. South Africa-based payments infrastructure company Stitch Group has announced acquisition of Efficacy Payments, its second major strategic acquisition, enabling the firm to offer card acquiring services directly to merchants as a Designated Clearing System Participant (DCSP), and provide more seamless and cost-effective transactions. By bringing Efficacy within the Stitch Group, Stitch Group has become one of the first fintechs in South Africa to offer direct card clearing both online and in-person, underscoring its commitment to serving clients across more of their payments needs. As a designated clearing system participant, Stitch can offer a comprehensive, end-to-end card product with full control over the whole product lifecycle. Stitch is the gateway, switch and the acquirer: Merchants can work with one provider that can perform the end to end acquiring service across technical, compliance, financial and operational requirements Stitch Group is directly connected to Visa and Mastercard: There is no dependency on an intermediary acquiring bank or switch, removing potential failure points from the transactions For enterprise merchants, this results in: Better conversion: due to optimisations in the way messages are passed through card networks Faster access to new products and features: due to a reduction in bank and third party dependencies and delays, Stitch has greater autonomy to provide the latest products and features to its clients Real time reporting and reconciliation: merchants monitor the state of their payments and associated fees through a real-time view of transactions, as well as set up custom reporting at various frequencies, with fewer settlement and reconciliation issues Cost savings: from lower fees by working with one provider, thanks to optimisations in the way messages are sent, and a reduction in the need for internal resources to manage reconciliation across multiple interfaces and multiple parties 'We're excited to welcome the Efficacy team into the Stitch Group and offer this critical solution to the merchants we work with. Card processing is an essential requirement for businesses in South Africa, and we've seen a lot of room for improvement when it comes to conversion, recon capabilities and access to the latest technology. We're excited to see the impact this will have on the way our merchants collect card payments from their customers,' said Junaid Dadan, President and Co-founder at Stitch. Efficacy was launched in 2016, and it was designated as a clearing system participant in 2021, as the second fintech in South Africa to achieve this. This is the second major acquisition for Stitch Group, following its acquisition of ExiPay in January 2025, which allowed the firm to expand from online payments into the in-person payments space. Today Stitch offers a true omnichannel payment platform, allowing multi-lane retailers, telcos and other omni-channel businesses to modernize their in-store and online payment experiences. Stitch emerged from stealth in February 2021 and has raised $107 million in total funding to date, including its recent Series B round of $55 million announced in April 2025. DM For further inquiries, contact [email protected]. About Stitch Stitch is a payments infrastructure company that helps businesses seamlessly connect to the financial system, so they can deliver a better user experience and optimize operations. Headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, Stitch launched in February 2021 and has global staff. Stitch offers all popular online payment methods as a Payments Service Provider, as well as in-person payments at POS. Its platform supports a variety of pay-in methods and solutions; financial and payment management solutions; and Payouts. Learn more at
CTV News
04-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Downtown safety with Indigenous representation
Winnipeg Watch Barb Beardy, a team member of the Indigenous Women's Support Team with DCSP speaks to cultural safety and outreach ongoing downtown.
Winnipeg Free Press
13-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Downtown safety patrols stepped up for summer
The Downtown Community Safety Partnership is expanding its outreach patrols this summer to better protect and police residents and visitors, including thousands of wildfire evacuees who've sought refuge in Winnipeg. Starting Tuesday, there will be more crisis and outreach workers and service navigators working on streets and in parks in the core. The DCSP summer action plan will run for 16 weeks, up from a 12-week pilot in 2024. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Greg Burnett, executive director of Downtown Community Safety Partnership Executive director Greg Burnett said 84 per cent of the people that his crews helped last year received what they needed 'right away.' 'Together, we reduced calls to 911 by 220,' said Burnett, who oversees the collective founded in 2020 to provide non-emergency response, outreach and intervention services. 'But this has to be more than statistics and data. It's about helping people where they're at and meeting needs, proactively.' The Manitoba government has earmarked $500,000 for the initiative that is focused on prevention, detection and intervention of all kinds. The office of Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham is contributing an additional $50,000. The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ has also pitched in with a $25,000 commitment. Burnett said the funding will support DCSP, which has a team of about 75 people, and be shared with Bear Clan Patrol, OPK (Ogijiita Pimatiswin Kinamatwin) and others who do similar work in the community. He, along with representatives from all three financial backers, made the announcement at The Forks on Friday, one week after a random assault took place on the grounds. Shortly after 11 p.m. on June 6, an attacker — who remained at large Friday — beat a stranger until he was unconscious and stole an item from the 30-year-old victim before fleeing. The unprovoked assault took place outside, between the main market building and the Johnston Terminal, the Winnipeg Police Service said earlier this week. WPS has put a call out for tips to locate the male suspect who is described as Indigenous and between 25 to 35 years old, with a medium to heavy build and tattoos on both arms. Speaking to reporters about the summer safety plan, the mayor said he had just referred a case to outreach staff that involved an individual he believed could benefit from their assistance. Gillingham said he saw a man on a downtown sidewalk who appeared to be in distress, although he was conscious and talking, upon arriving to work Friday. The situation did not warrant police or paramedic intervention, he said, noting on-site security advised him they would call DCSP on his behalf. 'It's these kind of partnerships, playing out in real time, that make sure individuals within our city, who are struggling, are getting the help that they need,' Gillingham told a news conference. Emergency responders, community-serving organizations and front-line patrols are carrying out the multi-pronged plan that will be in place from June to October. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. The partners are focused on three areas: criminal detection and prevention; community safety and engagement; and supports for people with mental health and addiction challenges. 'Our mission is clear — to create a welcoming and safe and vibrant downtown where everyone feels supported. Summer is short in Manitoba and we all want to make the most of it,' Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said Friday. The 2025 plan builds off the success of the rollout that took place last summer, Wiebe said. A dozen new WPS constables have started working in the downtown area since graduating last week. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CTV News
13-06-2025
- CTV News
New plan to improve safety in downtown Winnipeg this summer
The Manitoba government is supporting a new initiative aimed at making downtown Winnipeg a safer place to be this summer. On Friday, Premier Wab Kinew announced the province is giving $500,000 to the Downtown Community Safety Partnership (DCSP) to implement the Downtown Safety Summer Action Plan. This 16-week plan is set to launch on Tuesday and will focus on criminal detection and prevention, community safety and engagement, and mental health and addiction supports. 'In government, we always say that we're tough on crime, but we're also tough on the causes of crime,' Kinew said. 'By working with DCSP, alongside law enforcement, we can make sure that when a police officer shows up for those situations…that we also have a different kind of response that's more tailored to other situations in our community that are begging for some kind of positive response too.' This initiative is aimed at improving safety by enhancing communication between government, community and organizations. The province also pointed to 12 new Winnipeg police officers that have already started patrolling downtown Winnipeg to ensure everyone can feel comfortable when enjoying what the area has to offer. 'Our mission is clear – to create a welcoming and safe and vibrant downtown where everyone feels supported,' said Justice Minister Matt Wiebe. 'Summer is short in Manitoba, and we all want to make the most out of it.' The Mayor of Winnipeg's office is contributing $50,000 to the plan, while Downtown Winnipeg BIZ is giving $25,000.
CBC
13-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
Summer safety plan gets $500K to help marginalized people, increase safety for all in downtown Winnipeg
Social Sharing A half-million-dollar effort to improve safety in downtown Winnipeg launches next week, based on a similar one implemented last summer. "This will be a united effort from June to October this year, that's being led by the province of Manitoba as well as the City of Winnipeg in partnership with emergency services, with community organizations and with front-line teams," Minister of Justice Matt Wiebe said at a news conference Friday at The Forks. "Our mission is clear: to create a welcoming and safe and vibrant downtown where everyone feels supported." The 16-week downtown safety summer action plan will launch June 17 and will involve mental health and addictions supports, in addition to working to address crime, the province said in a news release. It will be led by the Downtown Community Safety Partnership, which is getting $500,000 from the province, along with $50,000 from the City of Winnipeg and $25,000 from the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone. "This is a reflection that we believe in DCSP and the important work that they're doing," said Premier Wab Kinew, who lauded the work done by police, firefighters and paramedics in the city. Having "that fourth layer of response" from the downtown safety partnership "to help address situations before they escalate … is exactly the kind of progressive policy that we need to keep people safe," said Kinew. The DCSP — created by the provincial and municipal governments, Winnipeg Police Service, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, Downtown BIZ and True North Sports and Entertainment as a pilot project in 2019 and made permanent a year later — does 24/7 foot patrols downtown. It helps ensure that certain responses that involve police are also tailored for other situations, like when someone is in distress from mental health issues or addictions, Kinew said. "They deserve to be safe, too," he said. Wiebe said the safety partnership offers a co-ordinated response that addresses the overall health, well-being and safety of the downtown community. "It's about connection and collaboration," he said. 'People have got to feel safe': mayor DCSP executive director Greg Burnett said the safety patrol helped hundreds of people last year, the vast majority of whom got what they needed "right at that moment" without a need to call other emergency responders. That helped ease the strain on 911 by diverting 220 potential calls, and let police and fire-paramedics focus on other matters, he said. "It's about helping people where they're at and meeting needs proactively," said Burnett. Last year, the summer safety plan wasn't unveiled until the second week of July. This time, with many components already in place, it's easier to get rolling, he said. "We want to be out there helping people as best as we can, as soon as we can." The DCSP will distribute funds to other community groups that work with vulnerable, marginalized people in the downtown, such as the Bear Clan Patrol, Wiigiishin Giiwiigeenahn, and Ogijiita Pimatiswin Kinamatawin. "Downtown is buzzing" with new developments, festivals and sporting events, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said, also noting that in a few weeks, street-level crossing at Portage and Main will reopen to pedestrians for the first time since 1979. "But to keep that momentum going, people have got to feel safe," he said. Kinew echoed that, saying it's all about safety through different measures. "This is about making sure that somebody who's going through a cry for help can get the support that they need, when they need it," but also "making sure that somebody who needs to be held accountable because they're doing something bad in the community is going to be held accountable," he said. "If we can make this investment together and also make sure those great events we have this summer are going to be that much more successful, all the better."
