Visa, _able, and Onafriq Partner to Expand Visa Flex Credential Across CEMEA Markets

Quick Summary

Visa, _able, and Onafriq have partnered to expand the Visa Flex Credential across the CEMEA region. This collaboration allows financial institutions to offer multiple funding sources, including credit, through a single existing debit or prepaid card, significantly enhancing financial inclusion for millions of consumers.

How Does Visa Flex Credential Improve Financial Inclusion?

The Visa Flex Credential solves a critical gap in emerging markets where debit card adoption is high but access to formal credit remains restricted. By allowing issuers to toggle between funding sources on a single card credential, the technology removes the need for consumers to carry multiple cards or undergo entirely new onboarding processes for credit products.

• Unified Technology Platform: Integrates credit, savings, and debit experiences.
• Leveraging Existing Relationships: Issuers use current customer data to offer credit.
• Scalable Infrastructure: _able provides the backend to manage risk and liquidity.

This approach ensures that digital financial services are not just available but accessible through familiar payment interfaces, which is vital for markets in Africa and the Middle East where economic conditions can shift rapidly.

What Role Do _able and Onafriq Play in This Rollout?

The partnership relies on a tripartite synergy of payment technology, credit infrastructure, and processing power. Onafriq provides the essential pan-African payments infrastructure, connecting participating institutions to a network that already reaches one billion mobile wallets. This ensures that the Visa Flex Credential can be processed seamlessly across diverse geographic borders.

Meanwhile, _able acts as the credit enablement layer. Their platform assists banks and fintechs in managing portfolio performance and risk management. By combining these capabilities, the partners offer a "plug-and-play" solution for banks that want to modernize their card offerings without the heavy lift of building proprietary credit engines.

What Are the Benefits for Financial Institutions?

For banks and issuers, this collaboration simplifies the implementation of credit services. Instead of managing siloed products, they can use _able’s platform to optimize liquidity and drive customer growth initiatives. The ability to offer flexible payment options is a proven driver for deepening customer engagement and unlocking new revenue streams in competitive markets.

• Operational Efficiency: Single credential reduces card manufacturing and management costs.
• Revenue Opportunities: New credit products drive transaction volume and interest income.
• Risk Mitigation: Advanced intelligence hubs in Pune and Nairobi support data-driven lending.

FF NEWS TAKE:

This partnership moves the needle by tackling the "credit gap" in CEMEA through infrastructure interoperability. By utilizing the Visa Flex Credential, Visa isn't just launching a product; they are creating a standard for embedded credit. For Onafriq and _able, this validates their role as the plumbing of African fintech. It is a bold step toward making formal credit access a standard feature of every digital wallet and bank account in the region.