Ecobank, MasterCard close sub-Saharan Africa agreement

As part of the agreement, Ecobank will issue MasterCard debit, prepaid, and credit cards to millions of its customers until 2025. Ecobank will also roll out MasterCard acceptance solutions designed to expand the number of merchant locations that accept MasterCard payment cards on the continent.

Over 1300 Ecobank subsidiaries will issue MasterCard-branded cards in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Ecobank Nigeria, the largest of the Ecobank Group’s 36 African subsidiaries, already began large-scale issuing of MasterCard payment products in April 2014.

As a result of the agreement, cardholders will now be able to access their funds at millions of automated teller machines in Africa and worldwide. They will also be able to pay for products and services in 210 countries and territories where MasterCard payment cards are accepted today. The agreement will also see Ecobank roll out mobile point of sale devices to retailers in selected African countries.

Ecobank will also introduce the MasterCard Payment Gateway Service in selected countries to enhance online commerce for Ecobank’s small and medium enterprise, commercial and corporate customers. The ecommerce payment technology enables merchants to accept MasterCard or other branded payment cards.