ProvidusBank Collaborates with Mastercard to Drive Financial Inclusion for MSMEs

In a bid to affirm its digital dominance and stimulate innovation within Nigeria’s financial space, ProvidusBank, in collaboration with Mastercard, has announced a new payment solution designed to accelerate digital inclusion in Nigeria and across Africa.

The solution, called the Providus Amphi Card, is set to render seamless self-services to SMEs, merchants, and businesses with a special focus on cash-centric entities.

Powered by Mastercard, the Providus Amphi Card is a bundled solution of Mastercard’s industry-first SME Card and QR-Pay-By-Link solution – designed to enable MSMEs to make transactions seamlessly.

Through the solution, cardholders will also gain access to Mastercard’s SME benefits programmes such as the Entrepreneur Odyssey; a platform that provides business training content for micro and small businesses, and Easy Savings Specials; a dedicated platform where MSMEs can access discounted Value-Added Services from global and local third-party vendors.

MSMEs play a vital role in the global economy, contributing significantly to economic growth and job creation. In 2022, this sector contributed to 48% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP), accounting for 96% of businesses and 84% of employment – serving as the backbone of the country’s economy.

However, MSMEs often face challenges in accessing financial services tailored to their unique needs, ranging from payment collection to poor security, network instability, and limited access to credit due to financial institutions having limited visibility of their activities. Corroborating this trend is the recent demonetization enforcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which revealed that MSMEs are the most vulnerable to a cashless policy economy.

The Amphi Card aims to address these stress areas by offering a secure, safe, and convenient integrated financial solution customized for businesses and strictly for corporate customers of the Bank.

“ProvidusBank remains determined to being a frontrunner in innovative financial solutions in Nigeria. The Providus Amphi Card presents us an opportunity to demonstrate this commitment as we unpack the tremendous benefits it introduces to our customers, especially small businesses which remain the fulcrum of the economy.

“Through the introduction of the Amphi Card, we are once again revolutionizing payments in Nigeria.

“Each card is equipped with an imprinted QR code, seamlessly enhancing the banking experience and adding an extra layer of convenience and efficiency,” said Walter Akpani, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ProvidusBank.

The Providus Amphi Card features exciting benefits, acting as an extra avenue for collections and revenue generation, and providing features including innovative QR payment, expense reduction, cashback or discounts, and more – driving convenience for cardholders across the payment ecosystem.

“Additionally, it enables collection and payment and provides businesses with a versatile tool for everyday transactions, leveraging Mastercard’s Payment Gateway Services (MPGS) which are accessed through the unique QR codes imprinted on each card.

“Africa has made commendable progress in transitioning towards a cashless society. However, further penetration and the introduction of innovative solutions remain essential for driving the financial inclusion of underserved communities and segments, especially cash-centric small businesses.

“As such, we are proud to collaborate once again with ProvidusBank to launch the first QR on Card launch across the region.

“Empowering these businesses with innovative, safe, secure, and efficient digital solutions will not only enhance financial inclusion but also drive rural development and fortify the resilience of the overall economy,” said Mark Elliott, Division President for Sub-Saharan Africa at Mastercard.

The Providus Amphi Card signals the bank’s commitment to introducing innovative solutions to Nigeria’s financial digital and virtual ecosystem and Mastercard’s integral role in addressing financial inclusion. In 2022, the two entities collaborated to launch the Tap-to-Pay service, alongside Interswitch and Thales Group.

The payment solution was heralded by digital analysts and economic commentators as “game-changing,” and provided a springboard to introducing another cutting-edge solution in the bank’s digital value chain such as the Providus Amphi Card.