By our staff reporter
Ryan McInerney, CEO of Visa, recently met with the Prime Minister to discuss Visa’s initiatives and its dedication to supporting Ethiopia’s digital transformation efforts.
During the meeting, McInerney reaffirmed Visa’s resolve to aid in Ethiopia’s digitization journey. The discussions centered on fostering digital payments, enhancing financial inclusion, and providing robust support to small and medium enterprises, as well as to women and youth.
“We are fully committed to digitizing payments in Ethiopia and across Africa,” stated Ryan McInerney. “We firmly believe that digital transformation can fuel economic growth, and we are eager to collaborate with the Ethiopian government as it moves towards becoming a digital-first economy. Africa holds immense growth potential, and we see facilitating access to digital payments as a crucial step in this process,” he emphasized.
Visa unveiled several initiatives and programs aimed at bolstering Ethiopia’s payment ecosystem, including the establishment of local operations to bolster the country’s financial landscape. This move marks one of Visa’s ten offices across Africa.
Through partnerships with the National Identification Board (NIDP) and the Cooperative Bank of Oromia, Visa intends to develop a mobile application integrated with the FAYDA ID Platform. This application will provide users with a digital ID and financial wallet, enabling every Ethiopian with a digital ID to utilize Visa credentials to access social bank accounts.
Visa is also introducing and expanding innovative technologies in collaboration with financial institutions and fintechs like the National Identification Board (NIDP), Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Bank of Abyssinian, and Cooperative Bank of Oromia. These partnerships encompass digital card issuance, tap-to-phone services enabling merchants to use NFC-enabled smartphones as Point-of-Sale devices, and Visa Direct, facilitating fast, secure, and convenient money transfers.
In line with its commitment to fostering Ethiopia’s burgeoning fintech ecosystem, Visa announced plans to collaborate with partners to promote sustainable economic growth in the country.
