American Express launches the first business credit card in Nigeria

American Express Co. has unveiled its first business credit card in Nigeria through a partnership with local neobank O3 Capital, potentially improving the accessibility of dollars for businesses in the West African country.

The new card, which was introduced on Thursday in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, offers businesses a spending limit of $10,000 and a refund period of up to 45 days for international transactions. Other O3 Capital-Amex cards, designed for personal and household use, have spending limits ranging from $10,000 to $20,000.

President of Global Network Services at American Express, Mohammed Badi, expressed the company’s enthusiasm in expanding its footprint in Nigeria and across Africa.

“The very first American Express Business Card in the most populous African country will give us a new way to support local businesses with their growth ambitions. American Express is excited to continue strengthening its presence in Nigeria and expanding its reach across Africa,” Badi said in a statement.

This partnership aims to address the challenges posed by the ongoing dollar shortage in Nigeria, which has contributed to significant volatility in the local currency, the naira. Since the currency reforms in mid-2023, the naira has lost 65% of its value against the US dollar.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has encouraged banks to source dollars independently to ease demand pressures, but access to dollars remains difficult. Consequently, most Nigerian banks have restricted or discontinued the use of naira-denominated credit cards for international transactions, offering such services mainly to affluent customers.

Highlighting the benefits of the new card, CEO of O3 Capital, Abimbola Pinheiro, said: “The O3 Amex card solves the problem of queuing at banks for business travel allowances and personal travel allowances.”

O3 Capital aims to issue 16,000 American Express cards by the end of 2024 and expand to approximately one million cards over the next five years. The company also plans to expand its offering to other African markets, including Rwanda, Congo and Ghana, where it expects to introduce Amex cards by the end of 2025.

Badi revealed that American Express plans to expand its reach in Africa from 30 to 42 countries, citing increased consumer and small business demand for its cards.