Austria Card eyes partnerships in Nigeria

International card and secure chip solution provider, AustriaCard Holdings, has indicated that it is looking at local partnerships with established service providers in the financial space rather than competing with them on its expansion into the Nigerian market.

This was disclosed by AustriaCard’s Executive Vice President, (Turkiye, Middle East, and Africa), Burak Bilge, in a media chat on the sidelines of a breakfast meeting organised by the company to interact with senior management officials in the payment industry.

Austriacard Holdings, which is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, generated about €298.3m in the first nine months of 2024, €43.1m in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, and a net income of €16.8m in the same review period.

On partnerships with local players in the financial services space, Bilge said it was in two dimensions: “One is Interswitch and Verve, and the other is NIMC and AfriGo. AfriGo is new on the market now, but they are going through a restructuring, and AfriGo will become a strong player not only in Nigeria but also on the African continent.

“We have adapted our product to AfriGo specifications, and we are now in the middle of certification. So, our products will be AfriGo-certified based on the Nigerian-developed specifications, and then we will be ready to manufacture AfriGo cards. The second phase will be Interswitch and Verve, which are very strong brands in Nigeria. We are planning to become certified and become part of their network.

“The second thing is local partnerships with the likes of SecureID and others. We are not here to replace them; we don’t want to. We are here to work with them, support them, and bring our technology and experience into the market with those partners. We will be enablers, not competitors.”

Speaking on the timing of AustriaCard’s expansion into Nigeria, the EVP noted that geopolitical tensions would create gaps that his firm is looking at filling.

He said, “Nigeria is a country with lots of potential, but it is also a difficult country. It is not easy to penetrate because there are legacy businesses, partners, and service providers, but I believe it is the right moment for us to step in, especially with the trade taxes and states being more active.  With this friction, there would be gaps and potential in Nigeria, which they will not be able to fulfil. So I believe, if we don’t act as Austria Card, a company that wants to help the industry, there might be some interruption with the services and the kind of products that are coming into the market.

“My vision for Nigeria is to have a bigger team starting with Mr Michael Oseni and not only doing banking; we have a very strong e-government business. We do passports, ID cards, and driver’s licenses and provide turnkey, end-to-end solutions. We also want to be active in Abuja, providing services to the state on e-governance.

“For a local brand like AfriGo to become successful, you need partners. You cannot develop AfriGo by yourself. AustriaCard is committed to supporting NIBSS and AfriGo in this journey to become one of the most important local schemes in Africa. We are bringing in a lot of experience from other countries. We don’t want to sell a chip or card; we want to become a stakeholder in the Nigerian ecosystem. Africa is a great idea, but for a local brand to become successful, you need international experience because this has been done in other markets, and this is what AustriaCard hopefully will bring into the Nigerian market,” he said.

On cybersecurity, Bilge said that the firm has had zero challenges with its solution and hopes it will continue.

“If you are not a secure company, the government would never do business with you. We do a lot of government business, and we are well known in Europe. In Africa, we work with the governments of Tunisia, Libya, Ghana, and Sierra Leone. We did Nigeria’s driver’s license 10 years ago. We are also significant businesses in the Middle East and Europe,” he asserted.