Kora, the Nigerian-based pan-African payments provider, has launched a USD card-acquiring feature in Africa as part of its…
Kora, the Nigerian-based pan-African payments provider, has launched a USD card-acquiring feature in Africa as part of its renewed global strategy. The product will ensure merchants on its platform can receive payments in US dollars, accelerating Africa’s involvement in global trade.
Since its inception in 2018, Kora has sought to ease payment issues for Africans by providing cross-border payment services, which cut down on the cost and difficulty of transferring money in and out of Africa.
The Canada-headquartered company started as a platform that helped Africans from abroad send money to African recipients. So far, the company has evolved into a payment infrastructure that fosters payments made by indigenous and international businesses in and out of Africa.
Kora’s Payin service allows merchants to receive customer payments using various popular payment methods, including mobile money, bank transfers and cards.
USD-card acquiring and what it means for Kora’s merchants
According to the statement seen by Technext, the USD card-acquiring service adds to Kora’s suite of currencies, including NGN bank account issuing, pay-ins, payouts, and cross-border settlement across multiple countries.
Speaking on the new product, the Head of Product at Kora, Sandra Israel-Ovirih, said, “Incorporating USD card payments has been a priority for a while now. We understand that many businesses operate in a global marketplace and need a seamless payment system to handle cross-border transactions. This will be a game changer for African businesses selling to a global market.”
Launching USD card-acquiring is Kora’s plan to improve merchants’ experiences and help them create truly global businesses, ultimately enhancing Africa’s participation in global trade.
The USD card-acquiring product is the latest in a series of merchant-facing initiatives launched by the company in 2023. Earlier in the year, the company changed its name to “Kora”, moved its domain name to www.korahq.com, and launched a new corporate website.
“We want the merchants we serve to scale globally. Giving them the option to accept USD is an important milestone in this effort,” said Dickson Nsofor, Kora CEO.
“The focus is on Africa. But despite an increase in Africa’s participation in global trade, our contribution is still only around 3%. Giving African businesses the ability to accept global payments will accelerate Africa’s contribution to global trade.
The CEO also confirmed that the company’s next step is launching a multicurrency bank account product set to allow its merchant clients to access banking solutions currencies of the likes of EUR, GBP, and USD through the Kora platform.
Our next step is launching a multi-currency bank account product that allows our merchants to access banking solutions in currencies like EUR, GBP, and USD via the Kora platform.”
Digital payments in Africa; Kora and other players
Africa’s e-payments market is evolving with the provision of unprecedented and innovative initiatives from promising e-payments platforms. It is gradually catching up with the accelerating pace of digital payments in the other part of the world, owing to its rapid market growth.
In 2021, Africa generated over $24 billion in revenue through e-commerce, and predictions point out that by 2024, the revenue will cross $37 billion. In the last couple of years, Africa has seen the rise of impressive e-payment platforms, some of which have attracted funds from international investors.
As several regulations from the CBN have limited the spending power of Nigerians in the international markets, several payment platforms have provided means for Nigerians to buy and sell globally. Some of these features include the provision of virtual accounts, virtual cards, etc.
Flutterwave, Fincra, Payoneer, ChipperCash, PayDay, Grey, and Leatherback are some payment platforms that allow users to make and receive payments in foreign currency. Kora’s latest feature would significantly benefit merchants as they can create truly global businesses and contribute to accelerating Africa’s participation in global trade.