MasterCard to Issue Prepaid and Debit Cards in Five African Markets

The company has partnered with Equity Bank of Kenya to issue 5 million cards over the next 18 months.

MasterCard today announced an agreement with Kenyan bank Equity Bank to issue five million MasterCard-branded debit and prepaid cards over the next 18 months to serve the underbanked in five East African markets.

MasterCard debit and prepaid cards with chip-enabled technology will be issued first into the Kenyan market and then extended into Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Sudan, which the company says is the largest rollout of EMV payment cards in sub-Saharan Africa to date. The cards will also feature PayPass capabilities, to coincide with the installation of PayPass enabled point of sale terminals across the region.

The suite of products that will be made available in the East African region will include mobile point of sale technology, which allows merchants to receive payments via add-ons linked to secure applications on their mobile devices.

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio