ProvidusBank, Mastercard, Other Partners Launch Smart Device Tap-to-Pay in Nigeria

Nigerian consumers can reportedly now use their smartphone or wearable device to make in-store payments using a new Tap-to-Pay service launched by ProvidusBank, Mastercard, Interswitch and Thales Group.

To make these transactions, consumers can tap near-field communication (NFC)-enabled smart devices at contactless-enabled payment terminals. They can also make in-app and eCommerce payments, TechCabal reported Friday (Sept. 9).

When announcing the new offering, ProvidusBank Managing Director and CEO Walter Akpani said mobile phones have come to play a significant role in Sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade, per the report.

“As a bank, our collaboration with Mastercard and Interswitch to provide additional value through the mobile device is a strategy to leverage existing infrastructure, while delivering simplified payment through their advanced digital and tokenization services,” Akpani said in the report.

The Tap-to-Pay service incorporates Mastercard’s Digital Enablement Service (MDES) to turn primary account numbers (PANs) into digital tokens, Interswitch’s tokenization technology to provide an added layer of security and Thales Group’s digital security expertise to help develop the solution, the report stated.

“As a pioneer of mobile commerce innovation, we are excited to work with ProvidusBank to deliver a new payment experience that is both seamless and secure, in turn speeding the adoption of digital payments in Nigeria,” Ebehijie Momoh, country manager and area business head of West Africa at Mastercard, said in the report.

As PYMNTS reported in June, the need to tackle problems inherent to cash-based economies in Africa has fueled an explosion of FinTechs looking to remove hurdles to financial inclusion — and in terms of countries, Nigeria stands out.

Read more: FinTechs Solve Nigeria’s Financial Inclusion Challenge

Nigeria is home to some of the biggest and most well-known African FinTechs — including six of the eight African startups valued at over $1 billion last year — and now plays a central role in the continent’s payment ecosystem.

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