11th September, 2012
Pan-African banking group, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc is set to dominate the electronic card segment of Nigeria’s financial industry as it introduced the UBA MasterCard for banking convenience of its customers across the globe.
With the UBA MasterCard customers of the bank can now carry out their electronic financial transactions, through the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sales (PoS) and on the Internet, anywhere in the world, in a seamless manner even as they benefit from the bank’s range of cost saving e-banking products and services.
Commenting on the benefits of the new MasterCard, Head Cards, UBA Plc, Adedeji Olowe said MasterCard is partnering with UBA to accept and issue payment cards across 19 African countries.
According to him, “UBA is offering customers world-class products to roam their money in naira and three other currencies, dollar, pounds and euro. UBA represents the biggest potential for MasterCard in Nigeria today and across Africa .”
MasterCard is the second largest financial network in the world and is accepted in 210 countries, over one million ATMs and 32 million merchant locations. MasterCard has witnessed massive growth in Nigeria in the last 5 years
One of the benefits to cardholders, according to Olowe, is that the usage of UBA MasterCard in other currencies will have no annual spend limit, adding that UBA has concluded plans to provide full bouquet of payment cards across debit, prepaid and corporate cards. These cards, he maintained, will also come in premium levels such as Gold, Platinum and World.
“Mastercard is delighted to partner with one of the leading banks on the continent on the deployment of MasterCard to 19 countries on the continent,” Daniel Monehin, Division President, Sub-Sahara Africa, MasterCard Worldwide said. “Our partnership with UBA had come a long way, and the financial institution has an entrenched card-based products and channels millions of customers on the continent would benefit from,” Monehin added.
By Henry Ojelu