Operating 318 stores across six African countries, Cashbuild faced a challenge common to multi-location retailers: legacy payment systems created vulnerabilities that fraud could exploit.
espite standard controls, the company’s decentralised store operations and manual reconciliation processes left gaps that resulted in millions in annual losses. The solution required rebuilding payment infrastructure from the ground up and the results offer valuable lessons for multi-location retailers confronting similar challenges.
Cashbuild, Africa’s largest building materials retailer with over 6,000 employees, confronted a critical situation in 2018. Store staff were manipulating customer payments and exploiting card transactions. The fraud went undetected for months because each store operated independently with manual, paper-based reconciliation processes.
Beyond financial losses, operational challenges compounded the issue. Contract customers couldn’t transact across locations. Corporate offices lacked real-time visibility into store-level activity. Outdated point-of-sale technology couldn’t support modern security standards.
After evaluating banks and financial institutions without success, Cashbuild partnered with Altron FinTech to design a custom payment system. The solution centred on a proprietary payment card that functions like a credit card, allowing customers to load value securely and transact at any store.
Key elements included integrated switching and reconciliation for corporate-level oversight, standalone terminals that worked independently of outdated POS systems, dual acquiring through multiple banking partners, and PCI DSS compliance throughout.
The 18-month implementation required detailed process documentation and close collaboration to map existing workflows across different store types. The approach ensured operational continuity while adopting entirely new payment processes across all locations.
Fraud was virtually eradicated. Suspicious activity now triggers alerts within 48 hours rather than remaining undetected for months, saving millions annually.
Operational improvements proved equally significant. Reconciliation became automated and accurate, with corporate offices handling all reconciliations seamlessly. Customer checkout became faster and more consistent. Staffing requirements decreased without compromising service. System reliability reached new levels, as Gillian Mead, Finance Shared Services Executive at Cashbuild notes: “If we don’t hear about it, it means it’s working perfectly.”
What distinguished this implementation was the partnership model. “We love that when there’s an issue, Altron FinTech’s team comes back with a solution, every time. That’s partnership,” Mead explained.
The relationship extends beyond implementation to ongoing support, with multiple teams available when needed to ensure minimal downtime and continuous improvement.
The Cashbuild transformation demonstrates that payment infrastructure should be viewed as strategic asset, not operational cost. Modern systems deliver security, efficiency, and competitive advantage, providing business intelligence, risk management capabilities, and foundation for innovation.
Complex multi-location operations often require custom-built infrastructure rather than off-the-shelf solutions. Major technology transformations can be accomplished without operational disruption when approached methodically with deep operational understanding.
Success requires partnership over procurement. Technology implementations succeed when vendors function as strategic partners committed to long-term support and continuous optimization, not just initial deployment.
For retailers confronting fraud, operational inefficiency, or customer experience challenges around payments, the lesson is clear: legacy infrastructure creates vulnerabilities that compound over time. The question isn’t whether to modernize payment infrastructure, but how quickly that modernization can be accomplished while maintaining operational stability.
Learn more about secure payment infrastructure solutions: www.altronfintech.com
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