Lagos, Nigeria, 27 August 2020: Standard Chartered in collaboration with Visa, has today launched a new ‘Safe is Smart’ campaign, aimed at encouraging the adoption of eCommerce solutions, as Nigeria journeys onto economic recovery. This campaign will promote and educate consumers on smart ideas and e-payments solutions that will drive sustainability, survival and business recovery in the e-payments ecosystem.
Following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the campaign also seeks to provide convenient and secure cashless payment alternatives through the Standard Chartered Visa Debit card, QR payment solutions and the Standard Chartered digital banking mobile app.
Commenting on the partnership, David Idoru Head of Retail Banking at Standard Chartered West Africa, noted that it is important to increase consumer awareness on the safety of cashless payments solutions. “eCcommerce transactions make a large percentage of consumer spend and we want to be able to support consumers through our digital solutions to help them make smart financial decisions especially during the Covid-19 period. Our retail banking business is heavily focused on championing a digitized payments revolution to provide convenience and access to our customers especially through our fully digital mobile app.
This partnership with Visa also further emphasizes our commitment to the financial wellbeing of our clients, as Standard Chartered Visa Card holders, will enjoy numerous benefits including points earned using our 360 rewards program and zero surcharges at the point of sales through the ‘Safe is Smart’ initiative”, he added.
“The reality of the Covid-19 pandemic has presented a new shift in consumer behavior and through our network, we want to ensure that consumers are embracing the most secure payment solutions. Data from our Covid-19 impact tracker reveal that digital payments are on the rise, as more people now choose digital payments over cash transactions. The survey revealed that 39% of consumers in Nigeria started purchasing groceries online, 42% started purchasing food delivery online, while 43% of consumers started purchasing from pharmacies online for the first time” says Kemi Okusanya, Vice President Visa West Africa.
“The next evolution of payments is going to be driven by collaborations with financial institutions like Standard Chartered Bank. In a time as critical as this, our goal is to continuously foster innovation driven by technology to meet consumers’ every day needs, while driving the economy to recovery through accelerated eCommerce transactions”, she added.
Standard Chartered and Visa has since the pandemic continued to roll out initiatives that will help consumers and merchants mitigate and drive progression towards economic recovery.