Visa has unveiled a suite of new digital-first products and services that it claims will revolutionise the card and address the future needs of businesses, merchants and consumers and the financial institutions that serve them

Set for roll out over the coming, year, the new product roadmap was unveiled at the annual Visa Payments Forum in San Francisco.

“The industry is at a pivotal point – new technologies like Gen AI are rapidly shifting how we shop and manage our finances,” says Jack Forestell, chief product and strategy officer, Visa. “We’re announcing the next generation of truly digital-native payment card experiences. Today we unveiled new card features and digital innovations that will bring consumers into a more customized, convenient and secure future.”

The new products and services include Visa Flexible Credentials, which will allow a single card product to toggle between payment methods, enabling users to set parameters or choose whether they use debit, credit, ‘pay-in-four’ with buy now, pay late,r or pay using rewards points. Visa Flexible Credential is live in Asia and will be launching with Affirm later this summer in the US.

Visa is also introducing a slew of new ways to use the card when tapped on a mobile device, such as: Tap to Confirm: Easily authenticates identity when shopping online; Tap to Add Card: Enhances security when adding card into a wallet or app; Tap to P2P (person-to-person): Allows money to be sent between family and friends

Leading insurance companies, Heirs Insurance Limited (HIL) and Heirs Life Assurance (HLA) in partnership with Africa No Filter (ANF), have announced seventeen (17) young creatives across Africa as the recipients of the USD30,000 Tony Elumelu Storytellers Fund, a CSR initiative of both insurance companies.

The 17 finalists, selected from 3,600 entries, will receive $30,000 in grants (between $500 to 2,000 each) to develop projects that shine a light on entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Africa and challenge the negative stereotype of Africa.

The finalists represent 12 African countries, with 60% female and 40% male representation. Working with ANF, they will begin work on their submitted projects ranging from film to visual arts, journalism, and digital content creation. Named after African business leader and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, and sponsored by Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life, the $30,000 creative fund is an extension of Elumelu’s commitment to redefining an African success story that is powered by Africa’s youth and their creative ideas. The Fund is a standalone initiative, not affiliated with the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Speaking on behalf of both companies, Chief Marketing Officer, Ifesinachi Okpagu, congratulated the finalists, reiterating the confidence in the project’s mission to place Africa firmly on the map.

She said, “We commend the finalists of the Tony Elumelu Storytellers Fund on their ideas and commitment to this joint mission. We are confident that this CSR initiative will progressively change the often-negative stereotype about Africa.

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has reiterated the Commission’s commitment to continually drive initiatives that accelerate broadband deployment to increase penetration and make internet connection readily available to telecom consumers.

The EVC stated this at the 10th edition of Business 360 Clinics organised by Abuja Enterprises Agency (AEA) in Abuja. 

Speaking on the theme of the event, “Technology Utilization and Innovation: Effects on SME Profitability and Productivity” in the context of the regulatory activities of the Commission, the EVC, who was represented by Assistant Director, Digital Economy, NCC Paul Okeke, noted that NCC has been at the heart of providing the digital drive for transforming businesses and sustaining socio-economic activities in Nigeria.

During the panel session titled “Technology Adoption: A must for MSMEs Sustainability and Competitiveness (Challenges and Ease of Use),” Okeke highlighted the Commission’s commitment towards technological and digital transformation in a manner that makes entrepreneurship seamless.

While addressing the issue of challenges on digital literacy, Okeke informed the audience that the Commission has strategic partnerships with various organizations including Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) which birthed initiatives such as Digital Economy Academy where business owners learn about security risks and online threats in a 12-course programme for 3 months.

Okeke charged entrepreneurs to leverage technology to harness the benefits of these initiatives to sustain their businesses.

“As a regulator of Telecommunication, the Commission is in active collaboration with other agencies in the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy,  as well as with other public sector institutions such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to ensure that policies become effective in curtailing cyber-attacks and threats on businesses,” Okeke stated.

The participants and business owners also seized the opportunity of the platform to make complaints and resolve their business-related challenges while adopting technology for their various businesses during the interactive session. Representatives of relevant agencies at the event also seized the opportunity to attend to enquiries from participants who are running businesses and those who are aspiring entrepreneurs.