Visa, an American listed payment giant, is collaborating with Bantu Blockchain Foundation (Bantu), custodians of the Bantu Blockchain Network infrastructure (Bantu Blockchain), to support fast and secure transactions on the Bantu Blockchain by connecting Visa’s digital assets-linked Visa cards with Bantu Network Utility Tokens (XBN) created by Bantu.
By reducing friction and interoperability challenges, this integration is expected to boost Africa’s gig economy directly.
With the help of Visa and a major Pan-African bank, this collaboration opens up immense economic opportunities for Africa, including Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, D.R.Congo, Rwanda, and at least six other countries.
The Bantu Blockchain allows all digital assets issued on the Bantu Blockchain to settle in 2-4 seconds and with low network fees.
The Visa card will be issued in conjunction with a bank that is a BIN Sponsor, as well as an enabler of the BantuPay wallet (an ecosystem wallet for the Bantu Blockchain), to facilitate the on-ramping process from digital assets to fiat. All BantuPay users who have verified their identity will be able to access the Bantu (XBN) Visa cards.
The Bantu company plans to airdrop $1 billion worth of its XBN utility tokens over the next five years, leveraging Web3, decentralised applications (dApps), and other blockchain-based innovations across colleges and universities in Africa, Latin America, and the U.S. In addition, Bantu plans to integrate virtual cards into its BantuPay wallet in the near future.
Furthermore, the payment giant has entered into a partnership with Bantu to launch the Practical Money Skills programme to educate at least a hundred thousand youths per quarter on key money skills.
Victor Akoma-Philips, COO of Bantu commented, “We believe that the right technology tools and collaborations applied to the right problems will create large-scale positive social impact. This collaboration with Visa will help develop a new framework for Web3 social impact.”
Carl Manlan, Head of Social Impact at Visa CEMEA, said, “Visa believes that increased financial literacy can help people manage their money better and improve quality of life. We are delighted to partner with Bantu to teach young people the fundamentals of personal finance, including budgeting, saving, and responsible spending.”
This will be the first strategic partnership between an African Blockchain Infrastructure and Bantu.
The Bantu Blockchain was developed to address the peculiar needs of emerging economies in Africa and other developing countries. The Bantu ecosystem is built with simplicity and smooth user experiences at its heart. Bantu blockchain is a technology that is preferred for financial inclusion and impact due to its low fees, speed, and high transactions per second.
Among Bantu’s suite of tools is a suite of tools for changing the user experience, ranging from the trader on a local market to the enterprise building Web3 innovations such as DeFi and GameFi. The BantuPay wallet serves as the heart of the ecosystem by storing and exchanging digital assets created on the Bantu Blockchain, as well as managing identity/KYC/AML.
