American Express is launching a business credit card in Nigeria, its first product of its kind in the country.
The card offers business owners a spending limit of US$10,000 and a refund period of up to 45 days for international transactions, and is the result of a partnership with the local neobank. Capital O3according to a Thursday (May 9) Bloomberg reportwho noted that the launch of the card could improve access to working capital in the West African country.
“The first American Express business card in the most populous African country will give us another way to support local businesses in their growth aspirations,” Mohammed BadiAmex’s president of global network services said in a statement, according to the report.
“American Express is excited to continue strengthening its presence in Nigeria and expanding its reach across Africa,” Badi added.
Separately, Badi said American Express has plans to expand its presence in Africa to 42 countries from the current 30, citing increased demand from consumers and small businesses, Bloomberg reported.
American Express and O3 are also launching cards for personal and domestic use, which will have spending limits of between $10,000 and $20,000, the report added.
The O3 Amex card “solves the problem of queues at banks for the business travel allowance and personal travel allowance”, said the CEO of O3. Abimbola Pinheiroaccording to Bloomberg.
The neobank plans to issue 16,000 American Express cards by the end of the year and one million cards over the next five years, Pinheiro said. O3 also plans to offer them in other countries, including Rwanda, Congo and Ghana, where it hopes to issue Amex cards by the end of next year.
More companies in Africa — as well as in Central Europe and the Middle East — are looking working capital solutionsaccording to PYMNTS Intelligence.
Fifty-eight percent of growing companies in Central Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) used working capital solutions, according to the report “CEMEA Edition” from our 2023-2024 Growth Corporates Working Capital Index series, which was commissioned by Visa and examines the use of working capital among growing companies in CEMEA.
This percentage should grow to 95% in the coming months.
Of companies that accessed working capital solutions in the region, 77% saw improvements in business metrics and buyer-supplier relationships, PYMNTS concluded in the report.
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