OREANDA-NEWS. September 12, 2016. Ecobank Group has partnered with Mastercard to launch Ecobank Masterpass QR, an enhancement to the Masterpass global digital payment service that will enable millions of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria to accept fast and secure digital payments from consumers for the first time.

Ecobank has chosen Nigeria to first launch this mobile-driven, Person–to-Merchant (P2M) payment solution with Mastercard, which will address challenges with the acceptance of electronic payments within the MSME segment.

Users of Ecobank’s mobile banking platform will be able to safely pay for online and in-store purchases by scanning a Quick Response (QR) code displayed at checkout on their smartphones, or by entering a merchant identifier into their feature phones. Shoppers don’t need to carry cash or their physical bank cards – rather they can make fast, safe and simple digital payments using Ecobank Masterpass QR via their mobile banking app on their mobile device anywhere that Masterpass QR is accepted.

Group CEO Ecobank, Ade Ayeyemi says: “Ecobank Masterpass QR serves the rapidly expanding needs of individuals and merchants in Nigeria and across Africa who are increasingly turning to mobile for payments. Enabling prosperity in Africa is about bringing many millions quickly into an organised financial system on the continent and globally. MSMEs are Africa’s future wealth creators and Masterpass QR is designed with these increasingly tech-aware businesses in mind.”

MSMEs comprise 96 per cent of Nigerian businesses, making them a hugely important sector of the economy. With almost as many as 98 percent of MSMEs still transacting using cash, Masterpass QR provides acquiring banks with a cost-effective, fast and easy to deploy solution enabling these businesses to accept electronic payments.

“Masterpass QR is a game-changer for Nigeria’s payment industry, as we can now offer affordable acceptance solutions to acquirers that have previously struggled to provide expensive Mobile Point of Sale and Point of Sale devices to MSMEs,” says Daniel Monehin, Division President, Sub-Saharan Africa, Mastercard. “We are pleased to partner with Ecobank to bring this technology to the country and help consumers leapfrog into the digital age – all using the market’s existing mobile banking infrastructure.”

“Ecobank is relevant in every moment of the consumer’s life,” says Patrick Akinwuntan, Ecobank Group Executive Consumer Banking. “Our unrivalled Pan-African digital network makes us the preferred choice for convenient payment, collections and savings offerings to every individual and merchant in Africa”.

After launching in Nigeria, Ecobank plans to launch Ecobank Masterpass QR in 34 other markets.

Using Masterpass QR, business owners can increase revenue through the acceptance of mobile and digital payments, while reducing their exposure to the risks and costs of managing cash. Payment is instantaneous and guaranteed, meaning that merchants no longer need to wait days for transactions to reflect in their accounts.

Select merchants across Nigeria in Ikeja, Victoria Island and Lekki already accept Masterpass QR, with additional merchants being signed up across the country.

About Ecobank

Incorporated in Lomé, Togo, in 1988 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (‘ETI’) the parent company of Ecobank is the leading independent pan-African banking group.

It currently has a presence in 36 African countries, namely: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Group employs over 20,000 people in 40 different countries in over 1,200 branches and offices. Ecobank is a full-service bank providing wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services and products to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organizations, medium, small and micro businesses and individuals.

Additional information on Ecobank can be found at ecobank.com.