Uganda, 2, October 2023: Mastercard and Equity Bank Uganda signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at improving financial inclusion for digitally excluded individuals, communities and businesses in Uganda.
Equity Bank intends to leverage Mastercard’s Community Pass solution to:
- Issue financial inclusion cards that will serve as an online and offline store of value, enabling individuals to securely and digitally save and spend
- Issue Community Pass credentials as a functional form of identity that simplifies and enables access to multiple services in a secure, privacy-first and cost-effective way
- Enable access to credit for individuals and businesses
- Build a Community Pass digital acceptance footprint in partnership with technology companies in Uganda
Mastercard Community Pass is a set of platform services that enables digital inclusion and provides a commercially sustainable approach to scaling delivery of agriculture, micro-commerce, aid, and healthcare services. Through Community Pass, Mastercard is working to connect individuals in underserved, remote and frequently offline communities to digital solutions for life transactions.
“We are honored to partner with Equity Bank to expand access of financial services to excluded communities in Uganda,” said Daniel Huba, Vice President of SSA Market Development, Community Pass, at Mastercard. “This partnership holds significant promise to drive digital visibility, financial inclusion, and enable credit building opportunities and access to digital services for marginalized and underserved populations. At Mastercard, we believe in the power of technology to drive financial inclusion and empower individuals. Community Pass is designed to bridge the gap between the unbanked and formal financial services, providing secure and convenient solutions. These products will better enable consumers and small businesses to participate and thrive in the digital economy.”
“We are pleased to scale up our strategic partnership with Mastercard through this agreement,” said Elizabeth Mwerinde, Executive Director of Public Sector and Social Investments at Equity Bank. “The opportunity to collaborate on futuristic payment solutions for excluded communities is part of our strategy. Our partnership with Mastercard is timely and aligned to our customer-centric commitment.”
Equity Bank will also undertake a partnership with Innovation Village to facilitate implementation of the financial inclusion agenda through the Digital Economy Program.
“This partnership underscores our unwavering commitment to fostering growth and promoting financial inclusion through the Digital Economy Program,” said Saul Weikama, Digital Economy Practice Lead at Innovation Village. “By leveraging digital infrastructure and a shared platform, we are dedicated to aligning solution providers with financial institutions and industry leaders, with a clear focus on transforming the communities that serve as Africa’s engine for innovative solutions.”
The signing ceremony took place at the Kampala Serena Hotel.
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About Mastercard (NYSE: MA)
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all. www.mastercard.com
About Equity Bank Uganda
Equity Bank Uganda began its operations in 2008 and is regulated by Bank of Uganda. The Bank has its Head Office in Kampala and a network of 50 branches, over 7000 Equi Duuka agents, 6,500 Agents and 52 ATMs spread across the country and serving close to 2 million customers. Equity Bank Uganda is a subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings Plc, a financial services company listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Uganda Securities Exchange, and Rwanda Stock Exchange. In addition to Equity Bank Uganda, the Group has banking subsidiaries in, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, DRC, South Sudan, and a Commercial Representative Office in Ethiopia; with additional non-banking subsidiaries engaged in the provision of investment banking, custodial, insurance agency, philanthropy, consulting, and infrastructure services. Equity Group is the largest bank in the region with assets of USD 12 billion. It is also the largest bank in terms of deposits, with a market capitalisation of USD 2 billion and a customer base of over 15 million. The group has 337 branches, 56,772 agents, 32,269 merchants, 697 ATMs and has widely adopted digital banking channels.
About Innovation Village
The Innovation Village is a launchpad for leading entrepreneurs and innovators working to solve our most pressing challenges using technology. Every day, we devise avenues to leverage innovation, entrepreneurship and technology to deliver lasting solutions to challenges in the world. Our goal is to create a destination that grows companies that matter and are centered around solving the biggest industry and community challenges. We do this by converging Network, Talent, Capital and Physical Assets leading Uganda and the region into industry 4.0. For further information visit: www.innovationvillage.co.ug
