Oluniyi David Ajao

Zenith Bank, one of the leading promoters of Mastercard products in Nigeria is now issuing Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards as well. The leading Nigerian bank announced the new range of Visa cards about a month ago:

Zenith Bank Plc has taken its drive for cashless transactions to new levels with the launch of dual currency VISA credit card capable of being used for both Dollar and Naira transactions.

This dual currency functionality allows transactions carried out by the cardholder to be denominated in Dollars while abroad and transactions performed at home reported in Naira.

Cardholders who want Visa now have more options.

Among other benefits to the customers, the VISA credit card which comes in three variants: classic, gold and platinum eliminates the challenge of currency conversion for local transactions because of its dual currency nature even as it offers users an enhanced secure payment channel through the use of the ‘EMV’ or pin and chip technology, the latest and safest card technology in the world.

Zenith Bank Visa Prepaid
The Zenith Bank Visa Prepaid card offers you the recognition of a globally accepted payment card with the convenience of a prepaid card. For just $20 a year, the Visa prepaid is the solution to most of your global payment needs. Simply pay at any Zenith Bank Branch and a Visa Prepaid card will be issued in your name with a limit of your choice. Alternatively, you can pick up a Zenith Vuxz non-personalized prepaid card.
The cards are reloadable and would work on the Internet as well as on Visa Point-of-sales terminals.

Zenith Bank Visa Credit Card
The Zenith Bank Visa Credit Card is a dual currency international credit card issued on Visa International platform accepted at more than 24 million shops and business locations in over 220 countries and at more than 900,000 ATM machines worldwide including Nigeria.
These come in 3 different ‘flavours’: Classic, Gold, Platinum and come with varying monthly and annual fees. They all allow card-to-card transfers, email statements and transaction notifications.

Other banks and ATMs

Access Bank, another leading bank, has been issuing Visa cards since last year and many of their ATMs are linked to the Visa network. Some 12 other banks in Nigeria have Visa accreditation but are yet to start issuing Visa cards though some ATMs of First Bank, Skye Bank and UBA are linked to the Visa network.