By David Agba
Abuja
Ecobank has partnered with Visa to launch Ecobank Scan+Pay with Visa solutions to their consumers.
Th e strategic tie-up signals interoperability on a cross border level – and potentially huge gains – as it aff ords consumers with the ability to use their mobile phone to directly access the funds in their bank accounts to pay person-to-merchant (P2M) or person-to-person (P2P).
Ecobank Scan+Pay with mVisa delivers instant, secure cashless payment for goods and services by allowing customers to scan a QR code on a smartphone or enter a unique merchant identifying code into either a feature phone or smartphone.
Th e payment goes straight from the consumer’s bank account into the merchant’s account and provides real-timenotifi cation to both parties.
Th is serves to accelerate digital commerce and combat some of the challenges merchants have faced using traditional point of sale systems, including the cost of installation coupled with the requirement of electricity and internet connectivity.
Ecobank mVisa solutions also enable customers to send money instantly to any Visa cardholder worldwide.
Th is is a major innovation that serves the need of Africans in the diaspora by enabling them to simply link their Visa card to the Ecobank unifi ed mobile app to send money home to another Visa cardholder quickly and securely.
“We are fulfi lling our commitment to give every African the right to participate eff ectively in the global economy at an aff ordable price and in a convenient manner.
Ecobank Scan+Pay with mVisa helps merchants – particularly small and micro merchants – to grow their sales without the risks of carrying cash whilst also giving consumers the ability to pay for goods and services in a cashless manner from their phones.
Consumers can also conduct person-to-person payments and instantly transfer money to their friends and family via their phones at very low cost,” said Ecobank Chief Executive Offi cer, Ade Ayeyemi.
Th e partnership demonstrates both Ecobank and Visa’s continued commitment to provide fi nancial services to the banked and unbanked in Africa by leveraging digital platforms to off er convenient and aff ordable payment mechanisms.
President for Visa SubSaharan Africa, Andrew Torre said, “We are glad to partner with Ecobank to bring mVisa into the market, a mobile payment solution with real benefi ts to drive digital transformation backed by advantages of Visa’s global network – security, reliability and global acceptance, allowing consumers to make payments both domestically and internationally
