Nairobi: Visa, _able, and Onafriq have entered into a partnership to expand the reach of the Visa Flex Credential across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA). The initiative aims to aid financial institutions in enhancing access to credit via existing debit and prepaid cards, as announced in Nairobi on Thursday.
According to Kenya News Agency, this collaboration is intended to allow eligible financial institutions to integrate credit functionalities with existing prepaid and debit cards, potentially providing more consumers with access to formal credit through their current card usage. The Visa Flex Credential empowers issuers to offer diverse funding sources through a single card, and this partnership could enable financial institutions to provide credit access through their existing card credentials, thus simplifying consumer experiences and fostering financial inclusion.
For _able, the integration of Visa Flex Credential broadens the capabilities available through its technology platform, complementing its current deployments across banking and mobile money channels. Jad Abbas, Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer of _able, highlighted that the partnership would enable financial institutions to deliver a wider array of credit and savings experiences via a unified technology platform. He noted that while most consumers in the region already possess a card, few have access to credit through it, and Visa Flex Credential, along with _able’s infrastructure, could bridge this gap responsibly and at scale.
The partners emphasize that effective financial inclusion can be achieved when capital, distribution, and operational capabilities are synergized. The collaboration melds Visa’s global payment network and technology, _able’s credit enablement infrastructure, and Onafriq’s payment processing capabilities to assist financial institutions throughout the CEMEA region.
In many African markets, while debit and prepaid card adoption has surged, access to formal credit products remains limited. The partners believe that Visa Flex Credential could enable issuers to capitalize on existing customer relationships and payment credentials, thereby offering additional financial services through familiar payment channels. Onafriq will provide payment processing capabilities for eligible prepaid card implementations and connect financial institutions to its pan-African payments infrastructure.
Christian Bwakira, Group Chief Commercial Officer of Onafriq, stated that the collaboration would help extend access to Visa Flex Credential-enabled services in markets where issuers opt to deploy them. He added that supporting Visa Flex on prepaid cards, powered by Onafriq’s proprietary companion card platform and integrated with _able, would expand the company’s reach into a new realm of credit access.
For banks and other issuers, the partnership is designed to streamline implementation by consolidating payment technology, processing capabilities, and digital credit enablement infrastructure. _able’s platform supports financial institutions in areas such as portfolio performance, risk management, liquidity optimization, and customer growth initiatives, while Onafriq offers card processing and payments delivery capabilities.
Godfrey Sullivan, Senior Vice President and Head of Products and Solutions, CEMEA, at Visa, emphasized that Visa Flex Credential provides financial institutions with a novel way of delivering flexible payment experiences to customers. He mentioned that offering more consumer payment choices could enhance customer engagement, unlock new revenue streams, and boost operational efficiencies. Sullivan added that through collaborations with innovative ecosystem partners like _able and Onafriq, Visa is assisting issuers in exploring new ways to broaden financial service access and meet consumers’ evolving needs across the region.
Financial institutions across CEMEA are now equipped to explore opportunities for deploying Visa Flex Credential within existing card portfolios using _able’s platform, which is designed to function across multiple processing environments and support implementations as adoption grows in participating markets. Headquartered in Dubai, _able has operational, market and innovation, and technology and intelligence hubs in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and Pune, respectively. The company remains committed to bridging the gap between capital providers and distribution channels through technology that enables responsible and scalable financial products.
