Carbon Microfinance Bank, a fast-growing fintech company with a presence in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana, has today launched debit cards to its Nigerian customers. Since announcing its partnership with Visa, Carbon has attracted a waitlist of thousands of Nigerian users excited to get a hold of the new debit card and access the many features the bank has to offer.
The arrival of Carbon’s debit cards is another big step in the company’s transition from being Nigeria’s biggest digital lender to a microfinance bank licensed by the CBN. Customers can open a Carbon bank account from their mobile phone in minutes and save money, make online payments and transfers, receive funds, access low-interest loans, request credit reports, and make international payments via a dollar virtual card.
With the debit card, Carbon bank account holders will also now be able to spend funds in their accounts via online and offline channels like ATMs and POS machines. More importantly, Carbon is prioritising user experience, a trending issue among customers of financial institutions. First, it will be delivering cards to customers wherever they are in the country, removing burdensome queues and wait time from the equation.
From anywhere, users can request a debit card within minutes on the Carbon app and get them in record time in Lagos and other locations in the country. They will also be able to manage their card activities right from the app. At the tap of a button, customers can freeze and unfreeze their cards, giving them instant control over security.
Ikenna Okwuagu, Carbon’s Head of Business Transformation, said: “For us, the physical debit cards represent a more robust channel to offer value-added services to anyone who operates a Carbon bank account. It is also a furtherance of Carbon’s mission of being fully embedded in our customers' financial lives.”
One of such value-added services is Carbon Zero, a buy now pay later product that allows anyone with a verifiable source of income to buy items and pay over time, at zero interest. As part of a future update, Carbon’s customers will be able to make installment purchases right from the Carbon app by virtue of owning a Carbon card.
With the introduction of cards, Carbon plans to build on its customer base of 3 million users by offering a more complete banking experience for people with different needs, whether they are saving money at industry-high interest gains, sending money at no extra cost, making payments online and offline, or spreading payment for things they need the most but can’t afford at once.
New customers can download the banking app on the Google Play Store for Android users and the App Store for iPhone users.
