Interswitch Partners American Express to Expand Use of AMEX Cards in Africa

Yesterday at the Twin Towers in Lagos, Interswitch shared the news of its partnership with American Express. The payments company announced this at the merchant acceptance launch.

There are many payment gateways present in Nigeria and Interswitch is one of the most widely used in the country.

The company has more than 11,000 Automated Teller Machines on its network as well as a number of subsidiaries and stakes in other fintech companies within and outside Nigeria.

American Express cards have been acceptable in Nigeria for quite some time but its reach has been limited because the American Express cards (AmEX) cards are accepted in only a few Point of Sale and ATMs in the country.

Why Interswitch?

This partnership with Interswitch is mainly for the purpose of increasing the usage and acceptance of AmEX cards in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. American Express will be leveraging Interswitch’s existing widespread reach to make its card popular.

Since most businesses already use Interswitch as their payments gateway, the partnership means that people with American Express cards will be able to make payments on those Interswitch platforms in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.

Since quite a number of ATMs in the country run on Interswitch, it also follows that people with American Express cards can now carry out financial operations without inhibition. This greatly increases the scope of what amEX cardmembers can do in Nigeria.

“AmEx and Interswitch are aligned in our desire to provide fast and secure payment solutions and transactions across Nigeria. With this new partnership, we are improving AmEx Cardmember access to a convenient and secure network, which also benefits our merchants who will gain new opportunities presented by an expanded user base,”

Akeem Lawal Divisional Chief Executive Officer for Payment Processing at Interswitch

A possible impact of this deal for Interswitch is that it now has more potential customers to offer the merchants using its payments gateway. This is also a step in the right direction for Interswitch in its mission to create 100% acceptance for all cards.

As a part of the deal, Interswitch merchants will be integrated into the global American Express network while Interswitch will take up the responsibility of managing American Express merchants in Nigeria.