Oromia Bank Adds Visa Cards for International Payments

Oromia Bank has introduced three Visa payment cards for international transactions, targeting customers making payments for overseas travel, education, business and online purchases.

The bank launched the Oro Visa Classic, Oro Visa Gold and Oro Visa Platinum cards in partnership with Visa and Premier Switch Solutions (PSS) at an event at Skylight Hotel. The products are intended to enable customers to pay at merchants that accept Visa internationally.

Teferi Mekonnen, chief executive of Oromia Bank, said the cards would expand customers’ payment options beyond the bank’s existing card services. The bank did not disclose the foreign currency limits, fees or eligibility requirements attached to the new products.

The launch comes as Ethiopian banks expand digital payment services and seek to facilitate transactions for customers who need to pay overseas. International card services can support online purchases and payments abroad, although their practical use depends on the issuing bank’s terms, foreign currency availability and applicable regulatory requirements.

Assefa Seme, chairman of Oromia Bank’s board, said providing digital financial services was an obligation for banks as transactions increasingly shifted towards digital channels.

Yared Endale, Visa’s East Africa Cluster lead and country manager for Ethiopia, and Ameha Tadesse, chief executive of PSS Group, reaffirmed their organisations’ commitment to working with the bank.

The three cards offer different product tiers, Classic, Gold and Platinum, but the bank’s announcement did not detail differences in benefits, pricing or transaction limits between them.

Source: FSX Business News