Mobile payment platform, Paga, has announced its partnership with American multinational financial services corporation, Visa, as it bids to fast-track secure and convenient mobile payments for merchants and consumers in markets it operates. READ ALSO: Going for Growth 2.0: Jim Ovia Charts Way For Nigeria’s Economy
The partnership is in line with Visa’s goals to drive alternative payment channels such as the use of mobile wallets, within its global network.
According to Paga, partnering with Visa is a step further in its global expansion plans as all Paga account holders will have access to Visa credentials (physical and virtual cards) tied to their Paga accounts. This also provides them with the ability to transact anywhere Visa is accepted.
The payment platform stressed that both parties are working on launching a number of innovative merchant acceptance solutions which range from QR codes and NFC for in-store merchant payments to online payments, and international remittances would all be processed through Visa’s network.
Speaking on this new partnership, Founder and Group CEO, Paga commented Tayo Oviosu, stated: “We are excited to partner with Visa, a leader in payments globally, as they are constantly building world-class solutions for consumers and businesses. Our goals are well aligned.
“As we scale our wallet across emerging markets such as Nigeria, Mexico, and Ethiopia, partnering with Visa to give both consumers and businesses, who have been underserved, access to Visa’s global network made sense to us.
“Furthermore, it was clear to us in all our engagements the alignment of our goals towards solving the issues of cash, digitizing cash transactions and delivering financial services using new and innovative approaches. We are very happy to have signed a long-term relationship with Visa.
It was further revealed that merchants who use their payment collection suite will also benefit from the partnership as they (merchants) will be able to accept non-card based payments from customers of any bank in the world who offer Visa products. This will lead to much-improved customer experience and in the long-run, growth in sales.
Reflecting on the Visa-Paga partnership, Visa’s Vice President, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Fintech & Ventures for Central Europe Middle East and Africa, Otto Williams, said: “We are excited to have Paga plug into our network, as a company we remain grounded on the principles of partnership, innovation, trust and openness.
“This development ushers in a new era of speed and convenience beyond borders. It also allows us to continue working towards innovating robust platforms through which merchants using Paga’s payment collection suite can benefit from international money transfers and the growing eCommerce industry.
As part of this partnership, in the meantime, Paga will join Visa Fintech Fast-Track Program. The Visa fintech fast-track program makes it easier for fintech to access the global Visa payments network.
It was gathered that the program is part of Visa’s global strategy to open up her network and support a broad range of players that are developing new commerce experiences.
Furthermore, the fintech fast-track program provides a new commercial framework that includes eased access to Visa’s payment capabilities and streamlined processes to support companies of different sizes and at different growth phases.
