Mastercard and Awash Bank, an Ethiopian commercial bank, introduced a new international prepaid card and Payment Gateway Service at a press conference held at Awash Bank’s headquarters. This achievement leads to an improvement in Ethiopia’s card business, as the cards allow users and merchants globally to make online payments, while also supporting the bank in diversifying and increasing its service offerings.
This partnership aligns with Ethiopia’s National Digital Payments Strategy (NDPS) 2021-2024, which focuses on how responsible payment digitization can improve service delivery efficiency, promote transparency, increase women’s economic participation, foster financial inclusion, and sustain inclusive growth. With this new advancement, users can now use a plastic card to make contact or contactless transactions at ATMs and points of sale.
The plastic card enables users to withdraw cash from ATMs, make payments at POS terminals, and shop online at any business accepting Mastercard worldwide. Meanwhile, the virtual card allows them to make purchases online from any merchant website globally.
Furthermore, clients may quickly load funds onto the Awash Mastercard at Forex bureaus as needed, making it a perfect solution for overseas payments and travel expenses. Similarly, the acquisition of Mastercard Payment Gateway Services (MPGS) will diversify and broaden Awash Bank’s service offerings.
Mastercard’s Payment Gateway lets local retailers using mobile applications or websites to integrate and accept foreign payments online. Customers across the world can use their cards to make online purchases and bookings, as well as to pay businesses who have integrated MPGS.
Yohannes Merga, Senior Chief Marketing Officer at Awash Bank, stated that this achievement demonstrates the bank’s commitment to delivering convenient and safe banking solutions to its consumers.
Remember that MasterCard has increased its activities throughout Africa. In February 2023, the card issuer teamed with Boost, a B2B commerce platform that powers Africa’s convenience economy, to offer digital payment wallets and supply chain financing. In August 2023, the payments giant collaborated with Airtel Africa to create a new cross-border remittance service.
