Airtel Africa is partnering Mastercard to grant 100 million Africans access to digital payments via Mastercard’s global network. The partnership will leverage Airtel’s network of users across 14 African countries to achieve penetration.
With the recent growth of mobile internet connections in Africa, there is a high demand for digital content for social media, e-commerce, online education and easy and secure online payments for the banked and unbanked.
Mastercard will through its virtual card grant Airtel Money users access to make cash transactions to domestic and international online merchants who accept Mastercard cards. Airtel Money users will also have access to make payments at outlets through Quick Response (QR) codes.
The partnership will grant Airtel Money customers discounted prices and exchange rates for international payments. It will also grant them access to bill payments, merchant payments, and value-added services like cash management solutions.
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According to Raghunath Mandava, the CEO of Airtel Africa, Airtel and Mastercard share a mutual passion for digital transformation and accessible mobile financial services for Africans. He noted that the partnership will bolster ‘Airtel’s position as one of the largest offline-to-online digital payment networks in Africa’.
Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President for Market Development, Mastercard Middle East and Africa said, “Across the MEA region our digital partnerships strategy remains focused on enabling digital transformation for our partners so that their consumers can enjoy seamless access to payments and a superior experience.”
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