- dLocal will help Microsoft to sell more products in key markets such as Nigeria by increasing the use of locally issued credit cards – which will in turn help customers to cut fees.
- The cards will be powered by Mastercard and Visa and will remove the need for international credit cards.
- A senior figure at dLocal contextualised the move against the backdrop of Nigeria’s “cashless initiative” and explained why improved authorisation rates are so important.
Cross-border payments service dLocal has announced the arrival of a new partnership with household name tech company Microsoft.
dLocal said that it is going to work alongside Microsoft to provide clients in developing economies with the payment methods they need to purchase Microsoft products – such as games and subscriptions.
The work will begin with Microsoft offering regional acquiring services for bank card payments in the key sub-Saharan African economy of Nigeria.
This will apply to both debit cards and credit cards. However, the partnership will develop and grow from there.
Across the next few months, Microsoft will use one of dLocal’s key product strands to offer extra local payment methods in these regions.
The main benefit for Nigerian Microsoft’s customers is that they will now be able to take out subscriptions to Microsoft products with a locally based credit card.
Before now, this was only possible if the customers used international payment cards, which normally have high fees for payments in foreign currency.
However, the new service will help customers, including those who play games using Microsoft products, to drive down their costs.
dLocal will provide local credit cards that are powered in turn by Mastercard and Visa.
In order to provide continuity, Microsoft has pledged to avoid any disruption to its present customer payment interface during the switchover.
In a press interview, a leading figure at dLocal gave some of the reasons why Nigeria was selected for the scheme.
Meirav Adi, who serves as vice president of sales of dLocal, emphasised the regional importance of credit card usage.
“Nigeria’s cashless initiative is driving growth for e-commerce and digital payments services, and domestic credit cards are a large part of the market,” she said.
She went on to explain more about why authorisation levels were so essential when it comes to driving up a firm’s sales.
“Authorization rates are an important factor in improving sales volume in e-commerce and providing a positive experience for customers,” she said.
She also sounded a positive note about the potential impact of the collaboration with Microsoft – predicting that it will help the firm to boost its performance in the market.
“We are pleased to partner with Microsoft and provide them with the ability to accept payments that are widely used in these target markets to help fuel their continued growth in the region, and beyond,” she said.
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