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Nigeria’s payment landscape hit a historic milestone this month, and it didn’t come from a Silicon Valley or a global titan like Visa. Instead, it came from home. Verve, the domestic card scheme under Interswitch Group, officially announced it has issued 100 million active cards, cementing its status as the undisputed king of the African wallet.
If you walk into any local market from Lagos to Nairobi, you aren’t just seeing a piece of plastic; you’re seeing the culmination of a decade-long bet that Africa needed a payment system built for Africans, by Africans.
When Verve launched in 2009, the skepticism was palpable. The market was dominated by global giants with decades of head starts and multi-billion-dollar marketing budgets.
Many analysts wondered: Can a local scheme actually compete?
The answer lies in the numbers. Reaching 100 million cards isn’t just a corporate vanity metric; it’s a reflection of Verve’s “street smarts.” While global competitors focused on international travel and high-end credit, Verve went where the people were. They prioritized lower transaction fees for local merchants, seamless integration with government social intervention programs, and a rugged reliability that worked even in areas with spotty connectivity.
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More Than Just “Local”
The Verve of 2026 is no longer just a “Nigeria-only” solution. The 100-million mark reflects a massive cross-border expansion. Through its strategic partnership with Discover Financial Services, Verve cards are now accepted at millions of locations worldwide.
“We didn’t just want to be a local alternative; we wanted to be a global contender with a local heart,” noted an Interswitch executive during the milestone celebration. This “Glocal” approach to global reach with local pricing is exactly why the card has become the go-to for Nigeria’s rising middle class and its sprawling informal sector alike.
The Human Impact: Banking the Unbanked
Beyond the plastic, the real story is about financial dignity. A significant portion of these 100 million cards belongs to first-time bank account holders. For a trader in a rural market, holding a Verve card is often their first tangible link to the formal economy.
It represents the ability to receive payments safely, build a credit history, and move away from the risks of a cash-only existence.
Verve has also become the backbone of “tokenized” payments and digital wallets, proving that even as we move toward a cashless future, the “card” remains a vital bridge for millions.
The Road to 200 Million
The 100-million milestone is a victory lap, certainly. But for Interswitch and the Verve team, it feels more like a proof of concept. They’ve proven that an African brand can lead the continent’s digital revolution. Now, the race is on to see how far that red-and-white logo can travel.
