American Express and Ecobank Group, the leading pan-African financial services organisation, have announced a partnership to significantly enhance the acceptance of American Express Cards across twenty-one African countries
As part of this agreement, American Express card Members will be able to use their cards in twelve additional countries: Burundi, Central African Republic, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Togo. Moreover, the number of merchants accepting American Express Cards will increase in nine other countries where American Express is already accepted: Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. This expansion will be implemented over the next twelve months. Ecobank will also facilitate ATM acceptance for American Express in all African countries where it operates, except Cape Verde.
This announcement was made during the 2024 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group. The agreement aims to bolster the American Express global network by expanding the locations where American Express Card Members can use their Cards in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, this will allow merchants to tap into a new customer base comprising American Express consumer, business, and corporate Card Members from Africa and around the world.
"We are delighted to welcome American Express to our network, reinforcing our commitment to offering innovative payments solutions for customers across Africa,” said Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group. "This agreement will benefit American Express Card Members, providing them with greater choice and will help merchants to grow their businesses. It also highlights the scalability of Ecobank’s unrivalled borderless banking ecosystem and network across Africa."
Mohammed Badi, president of Global Network Services at American Express, commented: “This agreement with Ecobank is a major milestone for American Express acceptance across Africa as it will expand our presence in sub-Saharan Africa to 42 countries from 30 at present. With Ecobank’s support, we look forward to providing merchants in these countries access to higher-spending American Express Card Members both in Africa and from around the world.”
American Express and Ecobank expand card acceptance in Africa
Through this agreement, American Express Card Members will be able to use their cards in twelve new countries. (Image source: Ecobank Transnational Incorporated)
