Christine Kagendo 
From-L-To-R-Antti-Arponen-CEO-and-co-founder-of-Pyypl-And-Hasan-Kazmi-VP-head-of-strategic-partnerships-and-ventures-–-CEMEA-Visa
Pyypl, a fintech in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, has unveiled a major partnership with Visa, enabling it to issue virtual and physical prepaid Visa cards.
Pyypl’s Principal Licence membership and strategic framework agreement with Visa also accelerates Pyypl’s international expansion across the GCC and Africa and its mission to democratise access to financial services.
The Principal licence enables Pyypl to issue virtual and physical prepaid Visa cards through its mobile application, directly to its hundreds of thousands of active users.
With the support of local regulators, Pyypl can also provide access to prepaid Visa cards in other markets, fast-tracking financial inclusion across the MEA region.
The partnership is aligned with Visa’s growth and innovation strategy of enhancing access to capabilities for 850 million digital natives across MEA.
“Our payments ecosystem has multiple benefits for Visa and will accelerate the provision of financial services to the vast population of underserved digital natives in the region,” said Antti Arponen, CEO and co-founder of Pyypl. “Working closely with Visa and local regulators in new markets, we are focused on growing Pyypl’s presence and contributing to advancing financial inclusion across the region.”
Hasan Kazmi, VP, head of strategic partnerships and ventures – CEMEA, Visa, also added: “We are delighted to welcome Pyypl to our mission of advancing financial inclusion. We believe in empowering underbanked consumers by providing them with innovative, secure payment solutions. This not only gives them access to the digital economy, but also helps them thrive in this increasingly digital age.”
Powered by 100 per cent proprietary technology, Pyypl is now operational in multiple markets across Africa and the GCC. Its approach aims to offer transformational financial services to 850 million financially underserved smartphone users across Africa and the Middle East in a single app –via internationally accepted virtual and physical prepaid cards, instant domestic and international user-to-user transfers as well as remittances to 80 countries.
