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Nelson Gahadza

Senior Business Reporter

Nedbank Zimbabwe has partnered with American Express (AMEX) in an agreement that allows the bank to acquire merchants, enabling international American Express card members to use their cards in Zimbabwe.

The partnership will enable AMEX card members to use their cards at both physical and online merchants, including tourist destinations, restaurants, and hotels that are acquired by Nedbank Zimbabwe.

Mr Heresy Herry, executive head of origination and sales at Nedbank Zimbabwe, said at the launch of the partnership that this will provide the increasing number of tourists and business travellers traveling to Zimbabwe with greater payment choice.

“We value the confidence that American Express has placed in us as merchants; it provides the opportunity to capture more business from international American Express card members visiting the country,” he said.

Mr Herry said the partnership is significant to the country’s tourism sector as 40 percent of tourists that come into the country carry an American Express card, and they normally enjoy spending three times more than non-card members.

“Now imagine the level of deposits we were depositing in other countries, as there was no solution that allowed us to tap into that business within Zimbabwe.

“None of the service providers in the country had the capability to acquire that business, so when a client tourist comes into the country, they want to swipe into a POS device, but they could not read the AMEX because the software was not there,” he said.

He added that players in the tourism sector were now forced to go to South Africa as well as Kenya to then access that service, and if a tourist makes a payment that goes to a third country, it means it’s that country that benefits, and the transactional revenues go to that country as well.

“The uptake by merchants has been phenomenal; the market has been waiting for this,” said Mr Herry.

Under the partnership, merchants have access to market-leading reconciliation tools, including Nedbank Zimbabwe’s online merchant portal, where they can view and download settlements, submissions, and transactions and resolve any disputes quickly and efficiently.

Nedbank Zimbabwe’s managing director, Dr Sibongile Moyo, said the partnership would make a difference in Zimbabwe’s tourism industry and tourism receipts.

She said the payment platform has been the missing link, and it will unlock the market.

Briana Wilsey, vice president and general manager of Global Network Service EMEA at American Express, said the company is committed to significantly expanding the number of places that accept American Express around the world.

“The agreement with Nedbank Zimbabwe to enable acceptance of American Express payments in Zimbabwe is just one of the ways in which we are expanding in Africa to enable greater payment choice for businesses and consumers,” he said.

American Express is a globally integrated payments company, and its products have been in Africa for over 50 years. Its presence in the region continues to expand.