Vista Bank selects Radar Payments to drive its digital payment strategy

By Pavithra R

Vista Bank Group (Vista), a financial services holding company with the objective to build a world-class pan-African financial institution group and contribute to economic and financial inclusion in Africa has announced selecting Radar Payments to drive its global payment processing activities.

Vista has an ambitious agenda to challenge the status quo and deliver a superior experience to retail customers, large enterprises and MSMEs across West Africa.

The announcement comes at a time where AfCFTA, the pan-African free trade agreement has become a reality. Since 1st January 2021, AfCFTA has set new business standards for 41 countries and 1.2 bn people to help accelerate economic growth across the continent. The free trade programme promises a change in trading rules, with reduced import-export taxes making commerce more affordable for players in Africa.

“With AfCFTA, banks have to think pan-Africa first, and realise that we need to step up the game in terms of ease of payment, a critical component to every banking and business experience. As a challenger bank, Vista Bank is taking bold decisions when it comes to its technology stack, forming alliances with the best partners in their own fields. By selecting Radar Payments, the paytech by BPC, we have chosen a leader with a solid reputation in delivering superior global payments processing,” said Simon Tiemtore, Group Chairman at Vista Bank.

Vista Bank group is expanding rapidly through a series of strategic acquisitions that include First International Bank (FIB) Group in Gambia, followed by BNP Paribas’ Subsidiaries, La Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l’Industrie de la Guinée (BICIGUI) in Guinea and La Banque Internationale pour le Commerce l’Industrie et l’Agriculture du Burkina (BICIAB) in Burkina Faso.

Under the agreement Vista Bank will run on BPC’s flagship payment suite, SmartVista to manage card issuance and lifecycle management, payment switching, ATM and Point-Of-Sales management as well as providing digital channels such as mobile banking and e-wallet; personalised to both retail and corporate clients.

The bank is also planning to accelerate the issuance of UnionPay International (UPI) branded cards including prepaid, debit, and premium cards, in addition to the acquisition in ATM, Point-of-Sales, Contactless, QR payment, and E-Commerce.

“We are proud to join Vista Bank on their journey to transform the way people bank, pay and get paid, while making financial services more accessible to them. This partnership was born from our shared vision to successfully solve real life payment problems with a high-end, globally proven digital solution that focuses on end customers. Together, with the help of cutting-edge digital payment solutions, we will provide easy, instant and secure movement of money, thereby transforming Vista Bank into a trailblazing player within the continent,” said Evgenia Loginova, CEO of Radar Payments.