JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Saturday, January 19th 2013 [ME NewsWire]
To tweet this news, copy and paste: #MasterCard strengthens commitment to a World Beyond Cash in Africa http://bit.ly/WhZBFo#MAinAfrica
(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In a weeklong trip to Africathis week, Ajay Banga, President and CEO of MasterCard Worldwide, affirmed the company’s commitment to extending financial inclusion across the continent. Collaborating with local government officials, financial institutions, businesses and citizens, he shared his thoughts on a cashless society and vision of a world beyond cash.
Africa: The Next Cashless Continent
80 percent of sub-Saharan Africa is unbanked
Africa’s financial services sector is projected to grow 40 percent by 2020
Seven out of ten of the world’s fastest-growing economies will be in Africa by 2015
Africa has surpassed Europe in the number of mobile phones and the US in number of cell phone users.
61% of Kenyans use mobile phones to send money
(World Bank Findex)
MasterCard in Africa
January 14th, Ajay Banga addressed Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officials and other business leaders in Abuja, Nigeria. In his address, Mr. Banga acknowledged CBN’s Cashless Policyas the driving force behind the reform in the country’s electronic payments sector over the past two years
January 15th, Mr. Banga attended a signing ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya to announce an agreement between MasterCard and Equity Bank of Kenyato issue five million MasterCard-branded debit and prepaid cards.
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and MasterCardare working to bring bank access to the country. By 2013, 15 million grants will be given to 10 million recipients, mostly those who are unbanked, Resulting in $375 million savings by SASSA on operational costs alone
On January 17th, Mr. Banga met with South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene to discuss the importance of the financial sector and government working together.
About MasterCard:
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Photo Captions:
Image 1: Ajay Banga, MasterCard Worldwide President and CEO (right), discusses the benefits of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) Debit MasterCard with Hilda Nkantini (left) at the Elias Motsoaledi settlement in Soweto outside Johannesburg. Nkantini is one of the nearly six million South Africans who now receive their social grant payments securely and conveniently by using the Debit MasterCard, which can also be used to pay for purchases, check balances and withdraw cash largely without incurring transaction fees. (Nadine Hutton/AP Images for MasterCard Worldwide)
Image 2: Ajay Banga, MasterCard Worldwide President and CEO, right, and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, discuss the milestones achieved by Nigeria's cashless initiative in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday Jan. 14, 2013. Banga said the Central Bank of Nigeria's Cashless Policy, and the solutions created to achieve its goals, is viewed with global interest as a benchmark in driving financial inclusion in emerging markets. Driven by local government, the modernization of the Nigerian payments industry will positively impact economic growth in Nigeria by helping to eliminate inefficiency, corruption and fraud, which are issues faced by all cash-dependent economies. (Photo: Business Wire)
Image 3: Ajay Banga, President and CEO MasterCard Worldwide (left), Dr. James Mwangi, CEO Equity Bank Group (left) and Professor Njuguna Ndung'u, Governor Central Bank of Kenya, unveil a mockup of the new EMV card to be rolled out as a result of the partnership between Equity Bank and MasterCard Worldwide. As part of the collaboration, MasterCard debit and prepaid cards with chip-enabled technology will be issued, first into the Kenyan market and then extended into Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Sudan. The cards will also introduce MasterCard PayPass(TM) with the first ever installation of PayPass enabled point of sale terminals across the region. (Photo: Business Wire)
Image 4: IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR MASTERCARD WORLDWIDE - South Africa's Deputy Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene (right) met with Ajay Banga, MasterCard Worldwide President and CEO (left) in Pretoria on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. They discussed the importance of the financial sector and Government in working together to ensure financial inclusion for all South Africans. According to the FinScope South Africa 2012 study, 67% of the South African population aged 16 and above is banked, with this figure expected to reach 70% in 2013, thanks to the country's new social grant disbursement system introduced in March 2012. This system sees grant beneficiaries being issued with South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) Debit MasterCard cards. By the first half of 2013, an estimated 10 million South Africans - nearly one-fifth of the country's population - will be brought into the formal banking sector. (Nadine Hutton/AP Images for MasterCard Worldwide)
Contacts
For media inquiries:
MasterCard Worldwide Communications
Marcy Cohen, +1 914-249-2214
marcy_cohen@mastercard.com
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