United Bank Africa (UBA) and Mastercard have announced a partnership which will see UBA act as the issuer for MasterCard in 18 new markets in Africa. The partnership will see UBA issue Mastercard credit, debit and prepaid cards across these markets.
The partnership will also focus on increased payments infrastructure across Africa, including the roll out of point-of-sale and mobile-point-of-sale technology, to ensure merchants are able to accept the cards when introduced into these markets.
The alliance impacts on 19 African countries in which UBA currently operates including, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote D'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
"Through these strategic partnerships, we are able to accelerate the drive for financial inclusion and economic well-being across the African continent," said Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director-Designate, UBA plc.
Division President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Mastercard, Daniel Monehin says; "This focus on infrastructure and the roll out of easy-to-access solutions is a key part of driving financial inclusion and a move away from cash in these markets. MasterCard's continued innovation in the payments space coupled with UBA's extensive pan-African network will mean the introduction of increased competition and a stronger financial sector in these regions."
The partners reference statistics from the World Bank which states that there are approximately 2.5 billion people who are financially excluded.
"Access to financial tools creates economic empowerment and reduces poverty," reads an announcement from the partners.
"To date, financial inclusion has been predominantly centered on providing the underserved and the unbanked with tools and transaction accounts. This remains a critical need with two billion unbanked people, the majority of whom are women, forced to operate in a cash economy. In order for financial inclusion efforts to truly have an impact, there needs to be an equal focus on both access and usage," the statement continues.
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