TANZANIA BANKERS ASSOCIATION AND VISA LAUNCH CONSUMER CARD USAGE CAMPAIGN

Tanzania Bankers Association (TBA) Chairman, Abdulmajid Nsekela (centre) swaps a bank card to launch a campaign dubbed 'Kuwa Smati Jisevie' aimed at promoting cashless payments in Tanzania. Looking on are TBA Executive Director, Tusekelege Joune (right) and Exim Bank Chief Executive Officer, Jaffari Matundu (left).

Dar es Salaam, 26 August 2020 – The Tanzania Bankers Association (TBA) and Visa, the world leader in digital payments, today launched Kuwa Smati Jisevie, an education campaign that aims to promote the use of self-service channels in Tanzania, which includes the use of electronic payments. The theme “Kuwa Smati Jisevie”, which means Be Smart Go Cashless, is being implemented by 45 banks in Tanzania who are members of Tanzania Bankers Association (TBA)

Mr. Abdulmajid Nsekela, Chairman of TBA, said, "With Tanzania self-service channels growing rapidly and the ever-increasing need of offering safe, convenient and affordable access to banking services across Tanzania, Kuwa Smati Jisevie is an important and timely opportunity to educate customers about staying safe and also how to utilize available self-service financial services offered by TBA members. Our members have invested heavily on creating self-service channels, and now it is prime time to engage and educate customers on available services. It is however noteworthy that, the sector’s self-service channels utilization continued growth depends on the quality of the customer experience and education.

With the advent of COVID 19, self-service and shopping online continues to be highly important to the consumers in Tanzania. The TBA Chairman Mr Nsekela has extended an appreciation to the Bank of Tanzania and to the merchants accepting cards at their businesses in support of this campaign. Previously, some merchants were levying a surcharge on transactions or establishing a minimum or maximum amount as a condition for accepting an electronic payment. We highly appreciate the support from merchants in supporting the much needed electronic purchase during this time where safety and convenience is the new norm.

Mrs Olive Njoroge, Country Manager for Visa in Tanzania expressed Visa’s deep commitment in ensuring merchants have access to innovative technologies to make and receive payments. “The use of digital technologies, from smart phones and wearables to artificial intelligence, is rapidly transforming how people live, work and spend. Visa remains committed to our core mission to connect the world to enable individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Safe and secure payments at the point of sale remain a key focus for Visa.” added Mrs Njoroge.

Early this year, Visa introduced Visa Secure (previously known as Verified by Visa), an updated program to help make online payments more secure. Available across the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region, Visa Secure provides rules and policies merchants and issuing banks have to follow to authenticate eCommerce transactions and verify cardholder identity before a transaction can be authorized.

Visa Secure uses the latest EMV 3-D Secure (3DS) specification, which is the new industry-wide messaging protocol designed to promote frictionless consumer authentication. It enables consumers to verify their identity with their issuing bank or other entity (issuer) when making card-not-present (CNP) eCommerce/online payments. The additional security layer helps prevent unauthorized CNP transactions and helps protect merchants from exposure to CNP fraud.

Visa Secure has been designed to provide increased fraud protection, minimize cardholder friction, and increase the completion of sales, leading to a better experience for all parties involved. For merchants, Visa Secure delivers greater fraud prevention by sharing up to ten times more data with issuers for better risk analysis and advanced decision making. This helps both merchants and issuers detect and avoid fraud more effectively. Consumers can also benefit from a smoother and consistent user experience across multiple payment channels, including mobile web, in-app and digital wallet payments, without any compromise in security.

About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit  About Visa, visa.com/blog,@VisaNews,@Visa_TZ

About Tanzania Bankers Association

Tanzania Bankers Association (TBA) is a member driven Association representing the banking community in Tanzania. Our Vision is to continue being the voice of the banking sector and assist in creating a conducive environment for the sector to contribute to economic development of the country. Bringing together members of the banking fraternity in order to have a common voice on matters relating to industry performance and growth, policy and regulations, elevation of professional standards and standards of providing banking services. About TBA, www.tanzaniabankers.org@tba_forbankers

Corporate Communications Contact

Emily Kaiga Corporate Communications Visa East Africa Mob: +254708516544 E-mail: ekaigaad@visa.con

Tusekelege Mwaikasu Joune Executive Director Tanzania Bankers Association Mob: +255756547707 E-mail: tuse@tanzaniabankers.org