UBA Partner MFBs In Nigeria To Aid Financial Inclusion

Pan African financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) has partnered with Microfinance Banks in Nigeria to introduce its Prepaid Cards, UBA Africard, to the 70 percent unbanked population of the country’s 160 million population.

This is in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s cashless policy which aims to encourage financial inclusion among the unbanked population.

The UBA Africard is a pre-funded and re-loadable debit Naira denominated card which can be used on visa platforms and point of sale terminals around the world.

Speaking at the UBA Prepaid Card partners’ forum for Microfinance banks in Lagos, UBA Head Prepaid Card, Esaie Diei, the bank has introduced the Prepaid Card in 19 African countries and the Card has been adopted by at least 20 percent of the populace in countries such as Burkina Faso and Cote D’Ivoire.

According to him, the Prepaid Card holds immense potential and it has witnessed phenomenal growth within the short period of its introduction into Nigeria.

UBA Prepaid Card merchant business project Manager, Itohan Iyalla, also stated  that the microfinance banks have the opportunity to make money since Nigeria has a huge market.

He urged the microfinance banks to embrace this initiative and also encourage their customers to do same. “We have to encourage customers to embrace cashless dispensation.

Local newspaper, BusinessDay reported that UBA will be launching various forums with Microfinance bank in the country to encourage financial inclusion through the introduction of its prepaid cards to financial institutions.

“Our plan is to first extend this opportunity to our majors business partners in the financial industry to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria”, he said.

The State that will benefit from the partnership include Ogun, Kogi, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Onitsha, Warri, Benin and Port-Harcourt among others.

Microfinance involved in the deal have the benefit to earn money by educating customers about the UBA prepaid Africard, and doing all the functions that come with the card such as loading card with money, card replacement, card to card transfer and pin reset.  

In a related development, the bank has expressed utmost interest in supporting the Nigerian and Africa cinema/movie industry.

Speaking on the bank’s support for Nigerian and African cinema, Charles Aigbe, Deputy Head, Marketing and Corporate Relations said: “Films remain a great platform to showcase Africa’s rich cultural heritage to the world. We have and will continue to identify with initiatives that promote and encourage the film industry”.