Mastercard has officially launched its contactless payment solutions. This initiative aims to empower businesses in the region, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to easily and cost-effectively accept card payments using innovative technologies such as “tap on phone,” “QR Pay by link,” and “Payment link” on smartphones.<\/p>\n
Recognizing the rapid growth of the Nigerian payment market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) took a decisive step in shaping the future of payments. In January 2021, the CBN introduced the Framework for Quick Response (QR) Code Payment, followed by the release of the Exposure Draft of the CBN Guidelines for Contactless Payment in Nigeria in October 2022. These guidelines define contactless payment as the “consummation of financial transactions without physical contact between payer and the acquiring device(s).”<\/p>\n
Nigeria, home to approximately 40 million small businesses, stands to benefit significantly from the introduction of contactless payment options. The traditional cost of payment acceptance terminals has been a barrier for many SMEs. Mastercard’s contactless solutions will help reduce these costs, making it financially feasible for businesses, even those with limited resources, to embrace this technology. SMEs can now leverage their low-cost smartphones to accept payments securely through QR codes, payment links, and contactless payments, all equipped with Mastercard’s secure payment acceptance technology.<\/p>\n
Mastercard officials expressed pride in launching these contactless payment solutions, recognizing the importance of simple, secure, and cost-effective digital payment methods for both SMEs and consumers. The company aims to support and expedite the adoption of innovative payment methods, ultimately fostering financial inclusion and economic growth in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
QR code payments, highlighted in the press release, offer a compelling way for businesses to process payments without the need for additional hardware. Customers can easily set up QR code payments on their smartphones, making transactions seamless. Contactless payments, on the other hand, enhance the checkout experience by speeding up the process and providing convenience for both customers and businesses. With contactless payments, customers can skip the step of paying with cash or swiping their cards, making transactions hassle-free.<\/p>\n
The technology behind contactless payments, including Near Field Communication (NFC), ensures simplified payment processing, saving time for business owners. The initiative not only offers convenience, speed, and security to consumers but also aligns with Mastercard’s commitment to connecting one billion individuals and 50 million micro and small merchants to the digital economy by 2025. This strategic move is expected to contribute significantly to the ongoing digital transformation in Nigeria’s payment landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mastercard has officially launched its contactless payment solutions. This initiative aims to empower businesses in the region, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to easily and cost-effectively accept card payments using innovative technologies such as “tap on phone,” “QR Pay by link,” and “Payment link” on smartphones. Recognizing the rapid growth of the Nigerian payment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12398"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12409,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12398\/revisions\/12409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}