Paga, a digital bank operating in Nigeria for the last 13 years, has partnered with Visa, one of the largest payment networks for credit and debit cards, to launch virtual and physical cards.
Formed in 2009, Paga lets both consumers and sellers pay, get paid, and access financial services. According to the company, they do this directly and as a Platform-as-a-Service offering, which enables other third parties to leverage their deep infrastructure for their own users.
As of March 2022, Paga had over 17 million users and over 27,000 agents stationed throughout Nigeria.
Thanks to the Visa cards, Paga users can make payments online or at any physical merchant accepting Visa. The cards will be available in Naira, Nigeria’s first market with over 20 million customers before dollar-denominated cards are produced later.
To access a virtual card, users have to update their Paga app and then apply for the card, a process that lasts less than one minute, according to Paga.
The Paga cards come with several benefits including real-time funding from any financial institution. According to Paga, the cards have a unique NUBAN (Nigerian Uniform Bank Account Number (NUBAN) number that makes them interoperable with all financial institutions for real-time funding enabling bank deposits, deposits at bank branches, or financial agents.
Also, each card has its unique payment page making it possible for PAGA users to send their payment links to friends or family and have the money deposited directly into their Paga card in real time. Users also get notifications of card transactions in real time and they can freeze or unfreeze the card through the Paga app.
Paga and Visa previously partnered to launch Doroki, a financial product that lets merchants accept payments which hit the market in November 2021. They have also partnered to launch Paga’s direct online card processing service which made Paga cards independent from other card processors.
According to a statement by Paga CEO, Taya Oviosu:
“We are thrilled about the launch of our Visa-branded cards. Customers now have access to Visa’s global network through Paga cards. I am really excited about how Paga cards will make life easier for our customers in Nigeria and beyond.”
On its part, Visa indicated that the new partnership is part of the company’s business model and they are always looking to offer ways for clients to improve their offerings.
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