The news:
- Mastercard and MTN MoMo, MTN Group's digital financial services arm, have announced a multi-market partnership to launch a prepaid virtual card, allowing MTN's mobile money customers to access more than 100 million acceptance points worldwide.
- Per the press release published on both companies’ websites, the virtual cards will also equip merchants using the MoMo platform to accept card payments seamlessly, further boosting the fintech’s instant cross-border money remittance services and capabilities.
- The agreement will affect MoMo’s 60 million active monthly wallets across its 13 African markets: Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Ghana, Liberia, Republic of Congo, Republic of Guinea, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia. MTN's current overall subscribers stand at 290 million.
This announcement is coming soon after Mastercard revealed in a statement on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, that it had entered into a definitive agreement to invest $200 million in MTN Group Fintech to acquire a 3.8% minority stake the day before.
Following the new agreement, virtual and physical Mastercard companion cards will be added to all MoMo wallets, increasing user access and propelling MTN to a global scale.
The access will allow Mastercard to provide cybersecurity solutions to MTN's operations in markets where it is present, thereby increasing customer loyalty and trust.
Expectedly, the new partnership will connect millions of individuals and small businesses across Africa to the digital tools they need to complete mobile transactions securely.
Also, the collaboration will see Mastercard use its considerable technology and capabilities to actualise MTN’s vision to become the largest fintech platform in Africa, serving both merchants and consumers.
On the partnership, Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President of Market Development, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA), Mastercard, explains that collaboration is the payment technology company’s innovation strategy.
"We look forward to working with Mastercard as a partner that is also committed to the enablement of more people and businesses through the collaboration into best-in-class apps, superior user experiences, safe transactions, secure remittances, new use cases, and expanded acceptance," noted Serigne Dioum, Group CEO of MTN Fintech.
