MasterCard Credit Card Debuts in Nigeria
By Ayodele Aminu
History was made at the weekend as MasterCard, an international credit card, made its first appearance in Nigeria through a strategic alliance with Ecobank Nigeria Plc.
With this development, Nigeria has joined the 210 countries of the world which accept MasterCard, ending the agony being faced by Nigerians who travel abroad as they no longer have to travel with large quantities of cash. Ecobank will accept MasterCard brought into Nigeria for utilisation at major hotels/designations and vice versa.
President Olusegun Obasanjo, the special guest of honour/chief launcher at the occasion, which also witnessed the opening of the Head Office branch of Ecobank, commended the bank for making Nigeria proud by making it the first country in West Africa to issue MasterCard.
"Today, Nigeria has blazed the trail in the payment system. You can conveniently move to New York with a card issued in Nigeria and draw money. We will now be part of the about 200 countries around the world and a couple of nations where you can use your MasterCard. Today must be a day for glory of Nigerians and Africans.
"Ecobank has made Nigeria proud with a new payment system where Nigerians don't have to carry 'Ghana must go' about. This is a good development for Nigeria and I want to commend you specifically and thank you personally for the leadership that you have brought into the banking industry, "Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, who represented Obasanjo, stated.
He urged Ecobank to also demonstrate its leadership qualities in the on-going consolidation in the banking industry by not only being one of the few banks that would remain at the end of the day but "also be one of the leaders in the industry in the years ahead."
While acknowledging that the challenges of using a credit card are enormous, the president vowed to help Ecobank reduce the incidences of fraud to the barest minimum.
"The use of credit card is not only a challenge for both MasterCard and Ecobank, it is also a challenge for Nigeria. The Federal Government would ensure that the credit card system being introduced into Nigeria today witnesses one of the lowest credit card fraud levels anywhere in the world," he assured.
Earlier, Chairman, Ecobank Nigeria, Omo-oba Ayomane Oladele Odimayo, noted that MasterCard International chose Ecobank as its first partner for the issuance of the MasterCard credit card because of the trust and confidence it reposed in the institution.
"The Ecobank/MasterCard alliance is unique," Obasanjo remarked. "Unique in the sense that Ecobank would be the first financial institution in West Africa to acquire and issue the MasterCard credit card in Nigeria. This is a great feat that is typical of Ecobank.
"For our numerous customers who travel abroad, a new and easy product to acquire is laid at your feet, that can easily transform your outlook to doing business from the Nigerian base and also doing business abroad from your respective foreign locations.
In her brief remarks, managing director/chief executive officer, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Funke Osibodu, noted that the holders of Ecobank MasterCard have the opportunity of using it in 22 million locations, 210 countries as well as 900, 000 Automated Teller Machines worldwide.
She also used the occasion to unfold the bank's capitalisation plan, saying it would be achieved through a combination of injection of fresh funds from both existing and parent company (Ecobank Transnational Incorporated), institutional investors and members of the public. She, however, emphasised that the Ecobank's franchise would remain at the end of the recapitalisation.
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