Pan-African digital bank, Carbon, has entered into a five-year partnership with tech giant Visa to issue virtual and physical debit cards to its customers across Africa.
Carbon intends to start issuing debit cards in the the third quarter of 2021 and this partnership see the digital bank leveraging Visa’s payment functionalities to deploy an instant issuance process in three key markets including Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya.
Visa is also providing financial support to Carbon which will be will be used to provide implementation and marketing support to help drive further growth and adoption of Visa’s payment solutions across Carbon’s products.
According to Chijioke Dozie, CEO/Co-founder of Carbon; “Carbon is focused on delivering an unparalleled banking experience that is both safe and reliable across all touchpoints.”
“We want more customers to enjoy some of our popular products like Carbon Zero through their Carbon card, and key to achieving this is our partnership with a leading payments and fintech-friendly company like Visa,” he adds.
With the arrival of debit cards, Carbon is building on its fast-growing user base of over 650,000 customers and a strong 2020 fiscal year which saw the company process ₦96.54 billion (~$241.35 million) in payments and ₦25.21 billion (~$63 million) in loan disbursements, eclipsing the previous year’s numbers despite the pandemic.
“The rapid pace of technology innovation has driven a powerful shift in business and consumer expectations in finance,” said Kemi Okusanya, Vice President, Visa West Africa. “Whether it is changing the way people invest, manage money, receive loans, or send real-time payments to friends and family, Visa is a natural partner for fintechs including Carbon, providing them with new ways to reach their customers through Visa’s vast network and global scale.”
Adding Visa cards to its payments stack will also enable easier access to Carbon Zero, the company’s Buy Now Pay Later product, which allows consumers zero percent financing on items they need the most but cannot afford immediately.
About a year, Carbon pivoted from a digital lending company to becoming a digital bank offering a range of financial services including, savings and payments.
