03 Capital Nigeria Limited, an indigenous financial service institution, is taking the Central Bank’s cashless policy to greater heights, with the introduction of the nation’s first non-bank credit card. 03 Capital became the first non-bank card issuer in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy by GDP, following the launch of its credit cards into the market.
The cards work on the Interswitch network, which means it can be used on all Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sale (PoS) and internet payment websites in the country. Briefing journalists, investors and stakeholders in Lagos, weekend, Abimbola Pinhiero, chief executive officer of the firm, pointed out that the economy cannot move to the next level without consumer effective lending. He said the World Bank and IMF economic growth forecast for Nigeria will not be sustained if all Nigerians do not work together to sustain the growth.
According to him, the Card enterprise is driven by an ultramodern Card Management System that is provided by a leading Canadian software company Bevertec CST and a Customer Relationship Management System, which is provided by Redmain, a United Kingdom (UK) based CRM Solution provider that provides a robust experience for the cardholder while guaranteeing transaction and data security. “O3 Cards comply with the international EMV (Europay MasterCard and Visa) standard with data transmission done under an encrypted and secure environment. “Our entire operating systems would run on certified platforms that are PCI DSS certified in line with international security standards issued by The PCI SSC (Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council). “The best marketing model that describes the credit card market in Nigeria is the adoption model.
This is the model where the industry is ‘virgin’ (in its state of infancy) and there is a need for the establishment of a credit card culture and infrastructure”, he added. O3 Capital says it is determined to drive the evolution of credit card culture in Nigeria considering that there are less than 100,000 existing credit cards in a nation with a population of 160 million. “We believe that the key to achieve competitive advantage is through our product differentiation strategy and product efficacy, “he added. Pinhiero said the mission of 03 Capital is to provide the average Nigerian with access to funds to enable them meet everyday consumption requirement. With 03 cards, the average Nigerian will not be ‘cash-strapped’, but will have that additional funding source to meet daily needs, said the 03 CEO. “Our objective correlates to that of the CBN’s Financial System Strategy 2020, which includes the cashless policy.
“Its objective is to promote economic activity by utilising innovative payment systems with ease of accessibility to the general populace. Deploymentbof credit cards should give the relevant boost to the Nigerian economy by increasing the purcahsing power of the consumers by driving activity in the economy across the board”, he also added. The 03 selction process is extremly thorough with a high level KYC scrutiny, in line with the company’s philosophy of ‘Right Customer Low Risk’. According to Pinhiero, the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure is integrated with the existing credit bureaus which enables an automated credit history review of each applicant. The card managment system has a predictable risk management and anti-fraud solution. The 03 card allows you to purchase all forms of goods and services whenever and wherever you want, without ready cash.
Ben Uzor
