The Cooperative Bank of Oromia and Mastercard have embarked on a new partnership to roll out the Coopbank Prepaid Mastercard and officially introduce the Community Pass technology in Ethiopia. These initiatives are expected to transform the level of incorporation of digital and financial access to the more decentralized regions of the country, with concentration to smallholder farmers in Ethiopia.
This new frontier brought to liberation by the Coopbank Mastercard as well as its new product, the Community Pass, is set to transform the financial sector of Ethiopia for the better and is made possible by the joint efforts of innovation and accessibility. The Coopbank Mastercard provides highly, innovative, advanced card solutions designed for global consumers and has effectively ensured secure and convenient cash transactions across its borders. The prepaid card will let users purchase products across borders from the Internet for convenience and ease of access wherever Mastercard is supported, both on conventional market physical outlets and online stores. It will be seamless, leveraging a custom mobile app for transaction handling, with convenient card control tools. The implementation of this program as well as the partnership between Cooperative Bank of Oromia and Mastercard reaches five-years strategic partnership that focuses on the creation of new opportunities to deliver the necessary financial services for boosting financial inclusion and the development of the region’s economy.
Considering Mastercard’s Community Pass technology, there can be no doubt that it signifies a revolution for digitally vulnerable regions, including rural ones. Community Pass is up and running in five markets in the world and already has passed five and a half million users. Farm Pass which is an online service that can be accessed through Community Pass aims at providing the farmers and the cooperative societies’ farm access to agriculture markets and financial services, especially in the regions where the internet connectivity is conversely unavailable. So far, the two partners, Mastercard and Cooperative Bank of Oromia, have effectively enrolled and provided the Farm Pass service to over 11,000 farmers, 16 primary farmers cooperatives, and 4 cooperative unions in Ethiopia. It also provided more than $1.4m in total sales in primary cooperatives by smallholder farmers, with the service handling over 9,200 transactions. Currently, Cooperative Bank of Oromia has a plan to expand and promote the use of Community Pass Technology on coffee, barley, wheat, and poultry supply chains.
Deribie Asfaw, CEO of Cooperative Bank of Oromia, stated: “With the launch of the Coopbank Mastercard and deployment of Community Pass, our collaboration with Mastercard will revolutionize how our customers experience our services. Leveraging the power of technology, we aim to address the unique needs of our customers from farmers to consumers and businesses, empowering them to thrive and contribute to the economy. As a digital-first bank, our collaboration reinforces our dedication to user-centric solutions and our commitment to innovative and cutting-edge services, offering our customers secure and adaptable financial tools for a seamless journey. We are committed to staying at the forefront of innovation to meet the evolving needs of our customers.”
“Our mission is to empower individuals, businesses, and communities across Ethiopia with innovative solutions that enhance financial inclusion, drive digital transformation, and ultimately improve lives. Our collaboration with the Cooperative Bank of Oromia supports Ethiopia in advancing economic development and achieving inclusive prosperity. This aligns with Mastercard’s vision of integrating one billion individuals into the digital economy through digital and financial inclusion initiatives. We are delighted to support Ethiopia in its journey of transformative growth and development and achievement of the Digital Ethiopia vision.” Mark Elliott, Division President, Africa at Mastercard, highlighted.
These partnerships between Mastercard and Cooperative Bank of Oromia demonstrate a credible commitment to education of the millions of people through provision of economic services and use of technology to appropriately address the needs of Ethiopians to bring the much anticipated economic change into reality.
