In a bid to provide customers with a safer and more convenient option for transactions, the National Savings Bank (NatSave) has entered a partnership with MasterCard, which will see the bank rollout Mastercard Chip and PIN prepaid and debit cards.
NatSave customers currently use their proprietary cards for withdrawing cash. However, by upgrading to a Mastercard payment card, the bank’s customers will be able to make safe and simple payments for commercial activities.
“We are pleased to embark on a significant new strategic partnership … in our quest to make banking and payments more efficient, secure and convenient for our customers, while reducing their exposure to the safety risks and high transactional costs of handling cash,” CEO of NatSave, Mukwandi Chibesakunda said.
The new cards, set to be launched later this year, will feature the latest EMV Chip and PIN payment technology, providing customers with a convenient, globally accepted payment solution with the highest security protection.
According to the Division President of Mastercard (Southern Africa Region), Mark Elliott, the collaboration with NatSave in Zambia represents a step forward in MasterCard’s strategy to create a world beyond cash, where the digitization of financial services provides people and businesses with the tools they need to achieve financial security, grow their businesses, and improve quality of life.
With the new cards, customers will be able to withdraw money from Mastercard-licensed ATMs and pay for goods and services at millions of online and physical retailers that accept Mastercard payment cards, both in Zambia and in more than 210 countries and territories worldwide.
More so, the partnership is in line with the government’s goal of creating an inclusive and modernized digital payments ecosystem in Zambia. It supports Zambia’s five-year National Financial Inclusion Strategy (2017- 2022), which aims to increase financial inclusion from 59 percent to 80 percent.
“We envisage that this collaboration will help to contribute to driving digital transformation, financial inclusion and economic development in Zambia, which are top on the agenda for us,” Chibesakunda added.
