By Cecil MENSAH
The management of United Bank for Africa (UBA), in partnership with Mastercard, is rewarding its customers with a complimentary Mastercard to transact business globally.
The UBA Mastercard is an instant debit card that enables customers to access 26 automated branches of the bank across the country.
The product is also an international card that allows customers to transact business in 1.5 million Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), pay for goods and services at terminals worldwide and carry out secure web transactions.
Per the deal, a customer with as low as GHC200 in his or her UBA account can access the service of Mastercard and get connected to the world through the seamless platform.
The management of the UBA made this disclosure at the launch of the bank’s Mastercard platform in Accra.
The bank says its decision to roll out the digital platform is to reward customers for accepting to go digital.
Speaking at the launch at the Labone Branch of the bank, Obina Owuna, Head of Cards at UBA, said the card is accepted in over 210 countries and can also be used locally.
He said the card can be directly linked to a Current or Savings account and thus a transaction in real time.
He noted that the strategic partnership with Mastercard will focus on increased payment infrastructure across Africa, including point of sales technology to ensure merchants are able to accept cards introduced into the African markets.
“Our customer needs are changing and we are adapting through strategic innovations to provide them acceptable and superior service,” Owuna said.
He projected that through the partnership, UBA will be able to drive the financial inclusion and economic well- being across the African continent.
Omoke Adebanjo, Area Business Head of West Africa of Mastercard, said the relationship with UBA started in Nigeria and has been extended to some parts of Africa.
So the relationship of UBA and Mastercard is a Pan-African one and targeted to make transaction on the continent digital for the customers.
She said it is the hope of the Mastercard that the relationship will bear the needed fruit to move the operations of UBA forward.
The UBA has a customer base in excess of 10 million across Africa, and has invested heavily in bringing robust and secured digital banking platforms to Africa.
On the other hand, Mastercard is a technology company in the global payments industry. It offers the world’s fastest payments processing networks, connecting customers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in over 210 countries and territories.
