13 Million Cards to be issued first, in
largest card rollout of its kind in Africa
Cape Town, South Africa – The
Nigerian National Identity
Management Commission (NIMC) and
MasterCard today announced at the
World Economic Forum on Africa the
roll-out of 13 million MasterCard-
branded National Identity Smart Cards
with electronic payment capability as a
pilot program. The National Identity
Smart Card is the Card Scheme under
the recently deployed National Identity
Management System (NIMS). This
program is the largest roll-out of a
formal electronic payment solution in
the country and the broadest financial
inclusion initiative of its kind on the
African continent.
As part of the program, in its first
phase, Nigerians 16 years and older,
and all residents in the country for
more than two years, will get the new
multipurpose identity card which has
13 applications including MasterCard’s
prepaid payment technology that will
provide cardholders with the safety,
convenience and reliability of
electronic payments. This will have a
significant and positive impact on the
lives of these Nigerians who have not
previously had access to financial
services.
The Project will have Access Bank Plc
as the pilot issuer bank for the cards
and Unified Payment Services Limited
(Unified Payments) as the payment
processor. Other issuing banks will
include United Bank for Africa, Union
Bank, Zenith, Skye Bank, Unity Bank,
Stanbic, and First Bank.
The announcement was witnessed by
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of
Finance and Coordinating Minister for
the Economy in Nigeria, who stressed
the importance of the National
Identity Smart Card Scheme in moving
Nigeria to an electronic platform. This
program is good practice for us to
bring all the citizens on a common
platform for interacting with the
various government agencies and for
transacting electronically. We will
implement this initiative in a
collaborative manner between the
public and private sectors, to achieve
its full potential of inclusive citizenship
and more effective governance,” she
said.
“Today’s announcement is the first
phase of an unprecedented project in
terms of scale and scope for Nigeria,”
said Michael Miebach, President,
Middle East and Africa, MasterCard.
“MasterCard has been a firm
supporter of the Central Bank of
Nigeria’s (CBN) Cashless Policy as we
share a vision of a world beyond cash.
From the program’s inception, we
have provided the Federal
Government of Nigeria with global
insights and best practices on how
electronic payments can enable
economic growth and create a more
financially inclusive economy”.
Chris ‘E Onyemenam, the Director
General and Chief Executive of the
National Identity Management
Commission, said “We have chosen
MasterCard to be the payment
technology provider for the initial
rollout of the National Identity Smart
Card project because the Company
has shown a commitment to
furthering financial inclusion through
the reduction of cash in the Nigerian
economy.” He added “MasterCard has
pioneered large scale card schemes
that combine biometric functionality
with electronic payments and we want
to capitalize on their experience in
this field to make our program rollout
a sustainable success for the country
and for the continent.”
“Access Bank’s involvement in this
project is testament to our ongoing
efforts to expand financial inclusion in
Nigeria,” said Aigboje Aig-
Imoukhuede, CEO of Access Bank.
“The new identity card will
revolutionize the Nigerian economic
landscape, breaking down one of the
most significant barriers to financial
inclusion – proof of identity, while
simultaneously providing Nigerians
with a world class payment solution”.
“Unified Payments is the foremost
transaction processor and pioneer of
EMV processing and acquiring in
Nigeria, owned by leading Nigerian
banks. We will use our expertise and
experience to guarantee the success
of the project and ensure that the
data of Nigerians are protected. We
look forward to working with other
partners in delivering value to all
stakeholders’’, said Agada Apochi,
Managing Director and CEO, Unified
Payments.
The new National Identity Smart Card
will incorporate the unique National
Identification Numbers (NIN) of duly
registered persons in the country. The
enrollment process involves the
recording of an individual’s
demographic data and biometric data
(capture of 10 fingerprints, facial
picture and digital signature) that are
used to authenticate the cardholder
and eliminate fraud and
embezzlement. The resultant National
Identity Database will provide the
platform for several other value
propositions of the NIMC including
identity authentication and
verification.
Thanks to the unique and
unambiguous identification of
individuals under the NIMS, other
identification card schemes like the
Driver’s License, Voters Registration,
Health Insurance, Tax, SIM and the
National Pension Commission
(PENCOM) will benefit and can all be
integrated, using the NIN, into the
multi-function Card Scheme of the
NIMS. When fully utilizing the card as a
prepaid payment tool, the cardholder
can deposit funds on the card, receive
social benefits, pay for goods and
services at any of the 35 million
MasterCard acceptance locations
globally, withdraw cash from all ATMs
that accept MasterCard, or engage in
many other financial transactions that
are facilitated by electronic payments.
All in a secure and convenient
environment enabled by the EMV Chip
and Pin standard.
Upon completion of the National ID
registration process, NIMC aims to
introduce more than 100 million
cards to Nigeria’s 167 million citizens.
The Nigerian National Identity
Management Commission (NIMC) will
be issuing MasterCard-branded
National Identity Smart Cards with
electronic payment capability. This
program is the largest roll-out of a
formal electronic payment solution in
the country and the broadest financial
inclusion initiative of its kind on the
African continent.
Our work with governments in Africa,
most recently in Nigeria with the
upcoming roll out of 120 million
MasterCard branded National Identity
Smart Cards, allows them to be more
efficient and transparent, and enables
financial inclusion for millions of
people who have not traditionally had
access to financial services.
About MasterCard
MasterCard (NYSE: MA),
www.mastercard.com, is a technology
company in the global payments
industry. We operate the world’s
fastest payments processing network,
connecting consumers, financial
institutions, merchants, governments
and businesses in more than 210
countries and territories. MasterCard’s
products and solutions make
everyday commerce activities – such
as shopping, traveling, running a
business and managing finances –
easier, more secure and more
efficient for everyone. Follow us on
Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the
discussion on the Cashless
Conversations Blog and subscribe for
the latest news.
About NIMC
The National Identity Management
Commission (NIMC) was established
by the NIMC Act No.23, 2007 as the
primary legal, regulatory and
institutional mechanism for
implementing a reliable and
sustainable national identity
management system that will enable
Nigerian citizens and legal residents
assert their identity. The Act mandates
the NIMC to create, own, operate and
manage a national identity database,
issue national identification numbers
to registered individuals, provide
identity authentication and verification
services, issue multipurpose
smartcards, integrate identity
databases across government
agencies and foster the orderly
development of the identity sector in
Nigeria. The Act also empowered the
NIMC to collaborate with any public
and or private sector organization to
realize its objectives.
About Unified Payments
Unified Payments is owned by a
consortium of Nigerian Banks. Our
core businesses comprise Processing,
Merchant Acquiring, Switching,
Payment Terminal Services and
provision of Value Added Services &
Solutions. Unified Payments
pioneered the issuance and
acceptance of EMV Chip + PIN cards in
Nigeria, leading to reduction of ATM
fraud in Nigeria by over 95%. The
company enabled Nigerian banks and
merchants for the first time ever to
accept foreign cards at ATMs and
Points of Sale Terminals, and also
pioneered the issuance of Naira cards
that are globally accepted.
About Access Bank
Access Bank Plc is a full service
commercial Bank operating through a
network of over 300 branches and
service outlets located in major
centres across Nigeria, Sub Saharan
Africa and the United Kingdom. Listed
on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the
Bank has over 800,000 shareholders
and has enjoyed what is arguably
Africa’s most successful banking
growth trajectory in the last ten years
ranking amongst Africa’s top 20 banks
by total assets and capital in 2011. As
part of its continued growth strategy,
Access Bank has made sustainable
business core to all its operations. The
Bank strives to deliver sustainable
economic growth that is profitable,
environmentally responsible and
socially relevant.


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