Shareholders of listed companies in Nigeria are set to be able to withdraw any dividends they receive with the use of prepaid cards.

Payment card business Verve International -- which is a division of pan-African payments firm Interswitch Transnational Holdings -- has partnered with First Registrars to unveil what has been dubbed ‘a first of its kind’ FirstDividend Plus Prepaid Card.

In a statement, Verve says the card has been developed to support the financial inclusion drive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as part of CBN’s cashless policy initiative.

Regardless of whether shareholders have bank accounts or not, the prepaid card is planned to enable them to receive their unpaid dividends.

The two companies say that once shareholders receive the card, they are ready to receive dividends, which are credited to the card immediately as payments are authorised.

Beneficiaries of the dividend can then withdraw the funds at an ATM, transfer the funds to their preferred bank accounts, or even spend the money at any of the 130,000 Point of Sale (POS) terminals and 1,000 websites where Verve is accepted in Nigeria.

“This revolutionary new product will ensure all shareholders, including the unbanked, do not suffer lost income,” said Charles Ifedi, chief executive officer Verve International, in a statement.