American Express and the Ecobank Group have announced an agreement to expand the acceptance of the American Express card to twenty one countries in Africa.
Under this agreement, American Express Card members will gain access to their cards in twelve additional countries, including Burundi, Central African Republic, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Togo.
In addition, the number of merchants accepting American Express Card payments will increase in nine countries where American Express is already accepted, namely Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, Republic of Congo , Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
Growth in acceptance in these countries is expected to take place over the next 12 months. It is worth noting that Ecobank will facilitate ATM acceptance for American Express in all African countries where they operate, with the exception of Cape Verde.
The announcement of this agreement was made during the 2024 African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings, with the aim of strengthening American Express’ global network by expanding the locations where American Express Card Members can use their cards in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the agreement is expected to enable merchants to tap into a new customer base that will include American Express consumer, business and corporate members both within Africa and internationally.
Scalability
Representatives of the Ecobank Group expressed their satisfaction with the partnership, highlighting the benefits it will bring to American Express Card Members and merchants across Africa. They highlighted the scalability of Ecobank’s banking ecosystem and network across the continent.
American Express representatives echoed this sentiment, highlighting the milestone achieved through expanded acceptance across Africa, which will now span 42 countries. They expressed the expectation of giving merchants in these countries access to higher-spending American Express Card members.
The partnership is in line with Ecobank’s strategic agenda focused on growth, transformation and returns to provide retail customers with innovative and user-friendly financial solutions through its unified banking platform across Africa.