EmbassyCard, a Nigerian fintech company with presence in several states of the nation, has introduced a new digital prepaid card to merchants and residents of Lagos.
Users of the card can receive payment without network connection or point-of-sale (POS) machines.
This is aimed at solving some fundamental challenges faced by the fintech industry in the country such as long bank queues, charge-back fraud, use of expensive POS machines, delayed transactions and poor internet network.
In his speech, during the media parley and stakeholders’ forum held at NECA House in Ikeja on Tuesday, Sunny Ojuroye, chief executive officer of EmbassyCard, said the initiative is a game changer in the financial space.
Ojuroye stated that the organisation started developing EmbassyCard payment solution with its engineers and Providus Bank, the official partner bank, in 2019 before its launch in 2024.
Addressing mobile money agents present at the event, the CEO said, “Let us make history together with EmbassyCard, a new prepaid card for payment. This is a great opportunity to earn commission with us. EmbassyCard offers additional opportunities to make extra income in addition to what you already do. The cards come in LITE, Green and Gold with photo ID for identification purposes, thus enhancing security of customers’ funds.
“We have observed charge-back frauds, long queues when payments don’t go through or customers’ alert fail to arrive, and the issue of no network with the use of POS machines and long distance travels to lodge complaints at banks.
“We want merchants to be protected from charge-back fraud which is costing our businesses a lot of money. You can use your phone instead of bulky and expensive POS machines. We want all our merchants to become personal cash machines for our EmbassyCard customers, so they don’t have to queue at the banks to get cash.”
A co-director of EmbassyCard, Leye Popoola, noted that the company’s digital payment solution is different from others with a strong security feature, enabling users to either lock or unlock their card in the event of any loss.
His words, “You have a mobile money inside your card and you have it in your wallet. So, your money can be in the cloud. If you have EmbassyCard with or without connection, you can receive your money.
“It is 100 percent made in Nigeria for Nigerians by Nigerians. There is no ulterior motive behind it. Every transaction is in Naira. In addition, charges are in naira rather than in dollars as charged by other competitors.”
Speaking on how the card works without network, he said: “Many things are possible with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). It is configured in such a way that network will not be the problem. The card and the app work together to create a very secure payment system which protects merchants from charge back fraud when the customer pays with their EmbassyCard.
“We have seen the future in the present. We are confident that within a short while from now, we will capture the whole country. There won’t be hidden charges on the use of the card.”
Emmanuel Udeagha, head of brand management in Wetherheads Advertising Group Limited, the organiser of the launch event, said the newly introduced payment solution will revolutionalise the payment system in Nigeria. He said,
“It is able to take payment online and offline. If you’re in a remote community without network, you can still receive payment as a merchant and make payment as a customer to pay for services at restaurants, petrol stations, utility bills, among others. As a merchant, your phone serves as your terminal. With EmbassyCard, the customer will only need to tap the phone of the merchant at the back of his card and receive payment instantly. It has all the security features.
“It has the wallet. You can use it to transfer money to your bank account and transfer to other people and make payments. It is linked to a bank account which allows instant settlement. This means your payment gets to you instantly, it doesn’t wait till 12 midnight or 24 hours before settlement.”
In his remarks, Oluwagunwa Ibirogba, chairman of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), commended EmbassyCard for the initiative, saying it has been a struggle to get cash in the country.
He urged members of his association to get registered and become merchants so as to increase their income without the use of POS machines.
“Imagine, we can now walk about with cards in the form of cash. We are the merchants, the smallest bankers. I am encouraging all of us to work and run with it,” he said.
