Ecobank inks deal in bid for 100m clients

Ecobank Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mastercard to roll out a mobile payment solution across 33 African countries. PHOTO: COURTESY

Ecobank Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mastercard to roll out a mobile payment solution across 33 African countries.

The solution, Masterpass QR, is expected to give Ecobank the scale and capacity to hit its target of 100 million customers by 2020.

The MoU signals the largest Masterpass deal of its kind for Mastercard globally. The service addresses the challenges of expensive infrastructure associated with point-of sale devices, and eliminates the need for cash.

Ecobank customers in Nigeria already have access to Masterpass QR, with the remaining 32 countries across the continent expected to use the platform by the end of this year.

The solution is a mobile-driven, person-to-merchant payment platform. It is aimed at enabling millions of micro, small and medium enterprises across Africa to begin accepting fast and secure digital payments.

“With partnerships such as the one we have with Mastercard, we are well-positioned to meet the growing demands of consumers and merchants across Africa,” Ecobank Group CEO Ade Ayeyemi said.

“We will use Masterpass QR to leverage the power of digital to bring millions of people into the formal financial sector.”