Visa and Africa fintech firm PalmPay have announced a partnership to advance financial inclusion across Africa through access to digital payment services. Under the deal, PalmPay will launch an app with a mobile wallet in Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania. The mobile wallet will offer customers a platform to top up funds electronically or via offline access points, with the ability to make and accept individual and merchant payments.
Visa cardholders will be able to initiate payments within the app and make online and mobile payments by attaching their card details to their PalmPay profile. Non-card carriers can generate a virtual Visa card upon registration. The PalmPay app will provide access to a variety of financial products offered by third parties. PalmPay is also introducing a loyalty points programme.
PalmPaywill also expand its partnership to other industry players including Global Technology Partners and the Ecobank Group, who are working with the company on payment processing and banking services respectively.
PalmPay is currently being tested by a limited number of private beta customers in Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania and will be launched to the public in the coming months. An early access version is available on the Google Play Store and the iOS App store that allows users to accumulate PalmPoints, which can be used for transactions once the full app is available.