The world leading digital payment solution provider, Visa, has partnered with Access Bank Plc to introduce a Business Debit Card targeted at SMEs in Nigeria.
The move is said to create efficiency and transparency in SMEs’ expense management by preventing mismanagement, associated with handling cash.
Speaking on the initiative, Vice President, Visa West Africa, Kemi Okusanya, affirmed Visa’s role as a payment enabler and its continued efforts towards SMEs.
“At Visa, we remain committed to championing, empowering, and equipping small businesses with the requisite tools necessary for growth. Over the past months, we have provided support to help SMEs transition online through our Where You Shop Matters initiative and we are happy to further provide them with digital payment solutions for easy and secure online transactions. Additionally, we have collaborated with Google to provide free access to digital selling and marketing training to all SMEs.”
According to the 2020 PWC report on small businesses, SMEs contribute 48% of the national GDP, account for 96% of businesses, and 84% of employment in Nigeria. However, small businesses are mostly faced with cash flow management problems.
A state of cash flow report noted that 61% of Small business owners don’t know exactly how much money their business spends each month. The new Visa business debit card will encourage the transition of small businesses from cash to digital payments and give SMEs better control of their expenditures.
Expressing his view, Access bank Group Head, Product Insights and Capabilities, Robert Giles said: “We recognise the huge role SME’s play in driving economic growth and, as the largest source of employment, contributing to social progress and stronger communities. We are pleased to have partnered with Visa to create this leading solution to help SMEs plan, budget and track spending as well as access services to aid business growth in an increasingly digital marketplace. We encourage SME’s to walk into any of our branches and walk out with the new Business Card in a couple of minutes to start enjoying the benefits instantly.”
According to the partnership, the Business Debit Card idea which comes with a higher spending limit, is said to improve SMEs. It is in line with the spending patterns of small businesses, and said to also provide these SMEs with access to discounts on logistic services and digital payment acceptance services. Discounts on Twitter Ads, Shopify, Microsoft Office 365, DocuSign, Regus office space, Udemy, and Dropbox will further be made available to these SMEs as well as more offers, which can be accessed using the business debit card on https://smeoffers.poshvine.com.
As a way of encouragement, Access Bank is also offering free Google Ad Credits for the first set of small business entrepreneurs to sign up for the business card.
Over the years, Visa have always offering e-Commerce solutions to empower SMEs and with its recent “Where You Shop Matters initiative”, the company has enriched thousands of SMEs across the country and provided online resources on how they can grow their business.
Visa Digital Solutions equip business owners with the tools needed to create, manage and accept secure digital payments in-store, online or in-app
