Visa Inc. and Bharti Airtel, a leading telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, on Monday announced a partnership to bring innovative mobile payment services to seven markets in Africa including Ga-bon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles and Tanzania.
Visa and Airtel will build on the existing capabilities of Airtel’s Mobile Money service, allowing subscribers to use their Airtel Money account to pay in stores and online wherever Visa is accepted.
Additionally, customers can withdraw money and make payments from their Airtel Money account using their Airtel Money Visa companion card.
“Mobile payments can transform the lives of people throughout Africa who commonly have access to a mo-bile phone, but not a bank,” said Vish Sowani, vice president of MNO Partnerships for Visa. “For most new subscribers, this will represent their first payment account and bring some of the latest digital payment advancements into the everyday experiences of Airtel’s customers.”
In addition to everyday Visa transactions in stores, online and at ATMs, Airtel Money can also be used to make micro-payments, conduct fund transfers, purchase airtime and pre-paid electricity, plus Internet bundles – using an easy, safe mobile experience. For example, a bill can be paid without having to travel, wait in long lines, or hold large sums of cash.
“We are excited to embark on the next phase of development for Airtel Money with our new partner Visa,” said Chidi Okpala, director and Head of Airtel Money Africa. “We can look forward tofurther empowering our Airtel Money customerswith access to retail, ATM and online payments using only their Airtel Mobile Phone and companion card to manage all their mobile payment needs.”
Visa and Airtel have already launched an Airtel Money Visa Card in Kenya and will roll out services in other markets starting in early 2015.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable elec-tronic payments.
It also operates one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 56,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants.
Airtel on the other hand, is driven by the vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all.
Airtel has African operations in: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa.