Global payments technology company, Visa, has collaborated with Branch, the most downloaded finance app in Africa, for a deal that will see virtual Visa prepaid debit cards offered to over 2 million consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The agreement deal is in line with Visa’s broader strategy to collaborate with and invest in rapidly growing FinTech companies that are reaching consumers and merchants previously unaddressed by traditional financial services.
As a part of the deal, Branch will also implement Visa payment services into its platform, enabling its consumers to make payments using a card or a mobile phone. The move is part of Visa’s strategy to leverage mobile to digitize payments and is expected to pave the way for cash-free payments.
“Traditional barriers such as a credit score and bank account make financial accessibility a challenge for millions of people in Kenya and the region,” said Visa’s Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Fintech and Ventures, Otto Williams, reported ITNews Africa. “By focusing on digitizing payments, we aim to build a more digitally inclusive ecosystem. We are confident that our collaboration with Branch will deliver on seamless access to finance for the unbanked.”
The deal will also see Branch offering preferential loan terms to Visa merchants who accept Visa on mobile QR codes in Kenya. It will also extend this service to additional geographies in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Tanzania and Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous country with 190 million people.
Williams added that the partnership deal will allow Visa to help merchants grow their business and drive financial inclusion among the small merchant segments that are often unable to access quick loans.
“At Branch, we think our innovative mobile financial app will be able to provide consumers and merchants access to financial services thereby creating a larger and more robust open-loop payments ecosystem for all participants,” said Branch CEO Mathew Flannery. “It only makes sense to be working together with Visa to bring world-class financial services to merchants here in Kenya and beyond.”
