SBM Bank launches debit card for firms trading with China

Companies

SBM Bank launches debit card for firms trading with China

Thursday, September 12, 2019 22:00

By JOHN MUTUA

SBM Bank Kenya has in partnership with global payments firm UnionPay International said it will roll out a debit card that will ease online transactions for local firms importing goods from China.

SBM Group Chairman Kee Chong Li said that the UnionPay prepaid card will have a wallet for Yuan, the Chinese currency, and will also shield local firms from online fraud for the purchases that currently rely on trust.

The debit cards will be issued by the Mauritian lender and will be denominated in Kenyan shillings with plans to add Yuan and Dollar wallets in coming years.

“With China increasingly becoming a leading trade partner for Kenya and wider African continent, this particular UnionPay prepaid card will eventually have a Yuan wallet enabling users to make direct purchases from China and shielding them from forex losses,” Mr Li said in a statement.

The card will have no cash limits on top-ups, but customers will only be allowed to load Sh750,000 a day.

The deal that also marks efforts by UnionPay International to expand its footprint in Africa, is the latest by lenders seeking to capitalise on traders’ increasingly eyeing the Chinese market for imports ranging from clothes to electronics.