The cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] is now bullish with the acceptance of Verve Card, Nigeria’s leading payment card in several countries in Europe, America and Asia as Discover Financial Services (DFS) and Interswitch, Nigeria’s largest integrated payment processing service provider signed an agreement to allow each other use their cards across the two networks.
The companies entered into a strategic alliance that would allow acceptance of Discover and Diners Club International (DCI) cards at Interswitch-enabled Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals for purchases in Nigeria ,while Verve Card would be accepted in the United States of America, China, Japan, Korea, Serbia and India on Discover, Diners Club International and Pulse networks for international purchases and cash access outside of Nigeria.
The long-term agreement, which would be implemented in phases, would focus first on enabling about 20 million Verve cards on the Pulse global ATM network, followed by acceptance opportunities for Discover and Diners Club cards in Nigeria. The Discover global network, which includes Diners Club, Pulse and other partner networks, provides acceptance in more than 185 countries and territories.
Discover and Interswitch will also collaborate on the integration of Discover branded EuroPay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) solutions and fraud monitoring solutions to ensure safe transactions across both networks. The companies also plan to look at future opportunities for emerging payment products in Nigeria and in other Interswitch markets.
Executive Vice President and President of Discover Payment Services, Diane Offereins, said; “This alliance is significant to Discover’s strategy of creating an alternative global payments network that gives both financial institutions and consumers more choice.”
She said “By partnering with regional payments networks such as Interswitch, Discover is able to leverage its unique set of assets to grow volume, while providing our partners with the global reach and localized preferences and needs they require.”
Mitchell Elegbe, Group MD/CEO, Interswitch, said it is “One of the objectives of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Financial System Strategy 2020 (FSS 2020) to advance the efficiency of the country’s e-payment systems by reducing the reliance on cash and promoting interoperability among financial institutions. The agreement between Discover and Interswitch will contribute positively towards this vision.”
Charles Ifedi, CEO of Verve said “This alliance is another step in the right direction for Verve. We continue to look for new opportunities to expand our payments network, and our partnership with Discover is an example of that.” He said the new “Agreement provides our issuing members with new options for ATM and POS access around the globe while also giving Verve cardholders what they deserve, more convenience at home and abroad.”