The third operator, Interswitch, a local card firm and owner of Verve cards, is seen as the underdog, The Nation has learnt.
The Middle East and Africa region, which includes Nigeria, remains one of the world’s fastest growing e-payment markets, especially after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced cash-less banking, a policy that has increased the volume of e-transactions in the country.
To gain upper-hand in the market share, both firms have engaged in high-level staff poaching, including incursion into top management positions. MasterCard and Visa have also established their Nigerian offices, and engaged in direct marketing of their products. This contradicted earlier strategy when both depended more on their competitors, such as Interswitch and Unified Payments (formerly ValuCard) to act as processor for their respective cards.
MasterCard has also set ambitious targets for Nigeria, including a planned issuance of 13 million cards, which would also act as identity documents.
Also, the firm has appointment Aaron Oliver as Head of Emerging Payments for the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Oliver joined MasterCard from Visa where he was Senior Business Leader, Mobile Money – Asia Pacific, and was responsible for securing key customers for mobile money projects, besides leading the integration of Fundamo with CyberSource.
MasterCard said he will be responsible for introducing and managing Emerging Payment products to meet the evolving needs of consumers and effectively support its future growth in the region. Oliver’s appointment is coming at a time that Kamran Siddiqi, Visa’s Group Executive, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, is in Nigeria meeting with key operators in the e-payment market, especially banks and other financial institutions, including agents.
“Nigeria is a very important market for us. It is exciting for me to be here to support the progress Visa has made in driving financial inclusion and making e-payments more accessible to everyone everywhere,” Siddiqi said.
Head,Group Marketing Interswitch Nigeria, Enyioma Anaba admitted in a telephone interview that competition in the sector is fierce, but said her firm is competing favourably.
Acording to her, Interswitch remains a dorminant player in the Nigerian card market, having issued more than 20 million cards.
But analysts said the firm needs to do more work to remain relevant with the coming of MasterCard and Visa.
The Nation’s findings showed that MasterCard’s plans to capture a greater market share in Nigeria may have affected its partnership deal with Interswitch on a strategic co-brand debit card.
Although Anaba said the partnership is working, findings showed that only two banks, Skye Bank and Unity Bank, are issuing the joint MasterCard Verve card to their customers.
The plan was that MasterCard Verve project would enable cardholders to enjoy combined benefits of both products.
However, Interswitch said it has struck a fresh deal with China UnionPay International. The firm said it has also completed an acceptance and is acquiring third party payment processing integration with the Chinese firm. The deal will allow UnionPay cardholders to use their cards at more than 70,000 merchants, make payments and withdraw cash from more than 11,000 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across Interswitch partner banks in Nigeria, Uganda and very soon, in The Gambia.
“The agreement marks the start of a strategic partnership between Interswitch and UnionPay and opens an e-payments corridor linking Nigeria and China,” Interswitch said in a statement on its website.
Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Interswitch Transnational, Mr Mitchell Elegbe, said UnionPay cardholders have more convenient access to their money through the Interswitch network when they visit Nigeria.
“Nigerian banks will benefit from increased transactions from UnionPay cardholders using their ATMs and Point of Sale (PoS) infrastructure, while merchants will benefit from increased sales from a larger pool of cardholders,” he added.
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