How Interswitch extends Banking Reach

Interswitch products have been deployed in many African markets and can be used to extend services to bank customers in a variety of ways:

  • The Payment Switch is used by many banks; In Kenya they enable customers of dozens of banks to use each other’s ATM’s and to do account to M-pesa and M-pesa to their bank account transactions, even at ATM’s where they don’t have to use bank ATM cards to transact. In Nigeria, Interswitch is at all commercial banks meaning a total network of 13,000 ATM’s are available for customers to use, and in Uganda, there are 13 banks with 280 ATMs. Interswitch has just launched in Tanzania, their 6th market in Eastern Africa. Customers of these banks enjoy lower costs of transactions than with mobile providers and seamless transactions as they  cross borders to trade within Africa.
  • Mobile solutions. An example is Centenary Bank Uganda whose customers have mobile wallets known as CenteMobile with which customers can pay their utility bills, take part in fundraisers and transfer funds, among other bank services.
  • Agency Banking & kiosks: Interswitch powers agency banking which is a customer delivery channel that many banks are now adopting to extending their reach while controlling costs. Interswitch powers all KCB Mtaani – bank agent locations as well as the teller kiosks in Nakumatt where customers go to load points, get M-Pesa and Airtel Money or buy airtime.
  • Banks Card: Verve is the leading card brand in Nigeria, and the chip & Pin card has been issued to almost 30 million customers of various banks in Nigeria, West Africa and soon Eastern Africa, starting with KCB and UBA. Verve cards are accepted on Paypal, and one new feature enables Verve cards to send one-time pay codes to friends or family members so they can withdraw set amounts at ATM’s.
  • Loyalty Programs: Interswitch powers loyalty programs for banks such as First Bank Nigeria; Customers earn points for carrying out transactions on their bank accounts or by using their Verve cards; They can get cash back for card usage and can get gift items and discounts at select merchants, some of who are online.