By Olubunmi Adeniyi
Lagos. March 7, 2013: The United Bank of Africa (UBA) says it has deepened its e-banking services with the introduction of a new reloaded prepaid card offering customers financial control, convenience and security.
The UBA Prepaid Card which is available in Nigeria and 18 African countries where UBA has presence is also accepted at all Visa acceptance points. The Visa points span over 1 million ATMs, 30 million POS/Merchant terminals in over 179 countries across the world, the bank says.
Described as the first of its kind in the banking industry, UBA says the new prepaid card gives users full control over personal finances as it is not linked to any bank account and therefore attracts no minimum balance.
Commenting on the new product, Adeyinka Adedeji, UBA’s Head of e-Banking, says that the prepaid card help customers to control their spending and be in control of their funds making it ideal for budgeting and travel.
“It is also ideal for students and even employees or casual workers who may not have a Bank account”, Adedeji adds.
Other key benefits of the card, according to him, include “efficiently allowing customers that cannot get approval for a current account to have access to financial services and deepen financial inclusion; while banked customers can still use the prepaid card to effectively manage their spend with what they have loaded on the card.
“In addition, they can limit their account exposure by using prepaid card online or at locations where they do not trust safety of their information. Travelers can load Naira and be able to spend as much as $40,000 equivalent per annum on the secure card which is protected with the CHIP and PIN technology,” the bank says.
Also commenting on the card, Esaie Diei, Head, Prepaid Cards, UBA, says that, “prepaid cards are a fast-growing form of providing financial services, facilitating payments. Consumers see the value and convenience of using these cards for a variety of financial needs.”
It may be used as an alternative to having a bank account for unbanked, as a budgeting tool or way to segment spending, and to make secure online purchases by under-banked and banked customers, Diei adds.
According to him, UBA prepaid cards come with a low issuance fee, there is no charge to load money to the card and customers may do so at UBA branches or via U-Direct and U-Mobile.
UBA Plc is one of Africa’s leading financial institutions offering services to more than 7 million customers across 750 branches and over 2000 ATMs in 19 African countries.
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