Decode Fintech

The story of American Express' entry into Nigeria

Episode Summary

Visa, Mastercard, and Verve. These are currently the dominant card networks in Nigeria. But in September 2018, American Express - the world's largest integrated global payments platform - made waves by announcing their entry into the market. In this episode, we speak with Catherine Malec, Vice President of Business Development at American Express. Catherine shares a brief history of Amex, what Amex looks for in local partners, and exactly what American Express' launch means for card users and business owners.

Episode Notes

Visa, Mastercard, and Verve. These are currently the dominant card networks in Nigeria. But in September 2018, American Express - the world's largest integrated global payments platform - made waves by announcing their entry into the market.

In this episode, we speak with Catherine Malec, Vice President of Business Development at American Express. Catherine shares a brief history of Amex, what Amex looks for in local partners, and exactly what American Express' launch means for card users and business owners.

In this episode, we talk about

01:12 - Catherine's journey from animal physiology to marketing

04:41 - What it means to be the world's largest global payments network

05:10 - A brief history of American Express

08:19 - American Express' Africa presence

10:31 - [Paystack Merchant Alert] Introducing Cowrywise paystack.com/cowrywise

13:20 - Behind the scenes of the Amex launch in Nigeria

16:52 - What the launch means for Amex users within and outside Nigeria

21:09 - What Amex looks for in local partners

27:29 - The most important question

Links Mentioned

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