Visa Inc. announced a processing enhancement for Visa Offers, a solution that enables Visa issuers, acquirers and merchants of all sizes to deliver targeted rewards to Visa cardholders. The enhanced service has the potential to eliminate paper coupons, allowing consumers, who opt in, to earn points and discounts as well as redeem special offers instantly
MasterCard announced two appointments in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region: Robert Keenan will be taking on the role of Asia/Pacific Region Lead for Debit and Jason Tymms will take over as Prepaid Lead for the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region. Rob, who has been with MasterCard since March 2005, will be
Consumer spending and ATM cash withdrawals decreased marginally in April, following a spike in withdrawal activity during the March holiday period, according to the latest statistics released by Spark ATM Systems. The Spark Cash Index (SCI), which measures the average value of cash withdrawals across more than 2 000 Spark ATMs throughout the country, revealed
A four-count federal indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn, USA charging eight defendants with participating in two worldwide cyberattacks that inflicted $45 million in losses on the global financial system in a matter of hours. The defendants allegedly formed the New York-based cell of an international cybercrime organization that used sophisticated intrusion techniques to hack into
In its most recent survey of web users, Alexa (www.alexa.com) noted that FNB was the only banking website in the top 10 sites in Africa and was the most popular banking website on the continent. Typically, national or regional news-based websites dominate the top 10. As a specialised banking site primarily aimed at the bank’s
Equity Bank Group’s profits after tax jumped 22 percent to Kshs 3.21 billion from Kshs 2.63 billion posted within the same period last year. Despite a challenging business environment characterized by uncertainty from the recent general elections and falling interest rates, prudent cost and risk management saw Equity Bank’s total income rise by 13 percent
The Nigerian National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and MasterCard today announced at the World Economic Forum on Africa the roll-out of 13 million MasterCard-branded National Identity Smart Cards with electronic payment capability as a pilot program. The National Identity Smart Card is the Card Scheme under the recently deployed National Identity Management System (NIMS). This
Centenary Bank of Uganda has unveiled CenteMobile, a mobile banking service for its customers. The service supports funds transfers, account and statement queries as well as airtime purchases and bill payments. It can be accessed on all mobile networks including MTN, Airtel, Warid, Orange and Uganda Telecom. The service is supported for both simple and smart phones.
Dutch bank, Rabobank Group has received permission from the Central Bank of Uganda to take a stake of 27.5% of the shares of ownership in the dfcu Bank, ranked 5th among the licensed commercial banks in Uganda. The partnership will be managed by subsidiary Rabo Development, which actively participates in 7 partner banks in developing
National Bank of Kenya has launched an Islamic banking window as it seeks to expand its business portfolio into the retail and corporate segments. The window, called ‘National Amanah’, is targeted at retail, SME and corporate clients offering banking products and services in compliance with Islamic shariah. Though based on Shariah compliance the products and
