Wegagen Bank Launches Pre-Paid Visa International Payment Card

Wegagen Bank has officially launched its international pre-paid Visa card service today, August 21, during an event in Mekelle, Tigray Regional State. The card allows customers to make international cashless payments.

“The new pre-paid Visa card allows customers to transfer funds and make payments at ATMs and Point-of-Sale (POS) machines worldwide,” said Solomon Tesfaye, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Technology at Wegagen Bank, in a statement sent to Shega. The service also facilitates online e-commerce transactions and provides a digital alternative for sending money from abroad to family and friends in Ethiopia.

Yared Endale, Country Manager of Visa Inc., pointed out that the Visa card plays a crucial role in expanding access to international financial services, allowing individuals to engage in the mainstream economy fully.

On Monday, August 19, Visa also announced a “strategic partnership” with Ethio Telecom to launch Ethiopia’s first wallet-based Virtual Visa Card.

The agreement seeks to enhance the current international money transfer remittance services through the introduction of the telebirr Remit App and Visa Direct.

Visa Direct service enables Visa cardholders around the globe to transfer money to our country using a telebirr virtual card number.

Meanwhile, telebirr Remit service is designed to enable customers residing abroad to securely send money instantly to their friends’ and relatives’ telebirr mobile numbers using the Bank of Abyssinia Cyber Source payment gateway.

Wegagen Bank, which began operations in 1997 with a capital of 30 million birr, has seen its paid-up capital grow to over 5 billion birr. The bank operates 438 branches nationwide and offers a range of digital services, including internet and mobile banking. Recently, it also launched a digital loan service application called Efoyta, aimed at supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises by providing easier access to credit.