Posted by The Vanguard on
Ecobank Nigeria Plc is set to move a step further with the introduction of a locally branded pre-paid card by March next year.
Ecobank Nigeria Plc is set to move a step further with the introduction of a locally branded pre-paid card by March next year.
The card is to be issued through ValuCard in collaboration with Visa International. General Manager, in charge of card-based products, Ecobank of Nigeria Plc, Christa Vee made this known to newsmen in Lagos at a briefing to commemorate the one year anniversary of the bank's brand of MasterCard in Nigeria. The bank was the first to issue MasterCard in Nigeria in October last year.
'The visa pre-paid product would be an additional product to our existing MasterCard product and it is a naira-based product that can be used anywhere people shop, for grocery, clothing, flowers, plant, etc. Through the Valucard system, we would be assisted to issue Visa and encrypt the Visacard correctly electronically. At the same time, we'll also be issuing our newly branded card which is Visa prepaid. This is a prepaid US dollar-based card, a very easy product.
'The potential customer can walk into any Ecobank branch, purchase a card which would be ready within a few days, personalised with name and number and you can fund that card whenever you need to and with whatever you need. The MasterCard pre-paid would be especially beneficial for usage on the internet," she explained.
She, however, said Ecobank would place less emphasis on the debit product because it is not an internet product like the prepaid. 'It is issued for people that have very specific needs.
So when potential customers want to come in, we would look at their specific needs and offer them the product," she added.
The locally branded cards billed to be launched next year, including Ecobank's brand of MasterCard, she explained, would have a travel insurance package.
"In the next year, all our travel cards would have travel insurance. We would add travel insurance and this is for any medical need that a customer might have.
So each time he purchases an airline ticket, a travel insurance would automatically be part of it.
'Also we'll be advertising our international calling card more widely. It is an existing product that MasterCard holders can get but people don't know about, so we'll be advertising the international calling cards. It is cheaper calls, for instance, that you can make from your hotel room rather than using the hotel room phone. You use the hotel room phone with our calling card number, but you don't pay the hotel rate," she said.
Ecobank MasterCard is a US dollar-based card for usage outside the country, especially for business people or those on holidays, people wanting to use this plastic card to travel.