MasterCard Extends Service To Seven New African Markets

 

MasterCard, a leading global payment technology company has expanded its reach into seven markets across Central and West Africa, bringing its total serviced market in Africa to forty-eight out of the economically surging continent's 55 markets.

MasterCard’s new African markets include: Chad, Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Gambia.

The mobile payment service now covers about 90 percent of the continent, championing financial inclusion and helping to take banking services to the unbanked population in Africa.

The introduction of electronic payments to these markets is providing positive social and economic impact as local citizens get access to safe and secure means of transacting, while companies get to conduct their businesses beyond the constraining and risky cash environment, MasterCard said in a statement announcing the expansion.

The company says it now has more than 58,000 ATM locations and 438,000 Point of Sale (POS) terminals across Africa. And since January 2013, the company says in countries such as Kenya, it has introduced ‘Mobile Point of Sale’ (MPOS) technology with the likes of Equity Bank.

                                                                

Middle East and Africa president at MasterCard, Michael Miebach, said: “Africa’s ongoing economic development, steady population growth and encouraging political outlook means that there is an increasing need for innovative and secure payment solutions that address market needs.”

“The continent has immense strategic importance to MasterCard and we will continue to invest in infrastructure, people and know-how in this part of the world. This has been the fastest growing area for MasterCard for the past few years, and we expect it to continue to register high growth,” he said.

“Our investment in Africa, through sharing industry knowledge and best practice, and by providing training for our customer banks, merchants and retailers, means we are creating more opportunities for all stakeholders in the African payments sector and better integrating the continent’s economies with those elsewhere in the world,” says Miebach.

According to the International Monetary Fund, 11 of the world's fastest-growing economies through 2017 will be in Africa and multinational companies like MasterCard have been venturing into the economically surging continent.

MasterCard, a technology company in the global payments industry, operates in more than 210 countries and territories.