- UP Allows American Express Payment System in Nigeria
American Express Card is now allowed as a means of payment for goods and services by merchants in Nigeria, the Unified Payments, Nigeria’s premier payments and financial technology company, has said.
The Managing Director, UP, Agada Apochi, disclosed this during the launch of the American Express Card (AMEX) in Nigeria by the UP.
He said, “In demonstration of the UP’s cross-enterprise alliances and capabilities, it will be the first entity in Nigeria to enable merchants to accept American Express Cards as a means of payment for goods and services at merchants’ locations in Nigeria.
“The UP will accept American Express Cards across its networks. Under the terms of the agreement, the UP will be directly responsible for recruiting new merchants to accept American Express Cards, and managing the ongoing relationships.”
Apochi said the UP was delighted to contribute to the ease of doing business in Nigeria by enabling merchants to grow their businesses by accepting American Express.
The Vice President of Bank Partnerships in Africa for American Express, Catherine Malec, said, “We are pleased to launch our first Nigerian acquiring partnership with the UP and look forward to working with the UP to help merchants grow their businesses. Nigeria is an important destination for our card members and this is the latest step in extending the AXP footprint across Africa.”
During the event, the company noted that UP prides itself in its mission statement of professionalism, respect, innovation, dependability, and execution.
It stated, “Incorporated as SmartCard Nigeria Plc, our company was later known as ValuCard Nigeria Plc prior to becoming Unified Payments following the decommissioning of our domestic-only payment or card scheme and transformation to scheme-neutral and option-neutral PayFinTech Company, with ownership of different technologies.”
According to the company, it recently pioneered payment at Points of Sale for merchants and withdrawals from the ATMs with phone number.
The firm said it was also the first to enable hourly settlement service to Nigerian merchants; the first to process the payment applet of the Nigeria National Identity Card; and the first acquirer and processor to deploy Near-Field-Communication technology for remote/distant and proximity/contactless transactions in Nigeria.
