American Express, Ecobank Group Partner to Expand Card Acceptance Across 21 Sub-Saharan African Countries

American Express and the Ecobank Group, a leading pan-African financial services institution, have entered into an agreement to broaden the acceptance of American Express Cards in twenty-one countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

This collaboration will introduce American Express Card usage to twelve new countries: Burundi, Central African Republic, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Togo. Additionally, it will enhance the number of merchants accepting American Express in nine countries where the service is already available: Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The expansion is set to be implemented over the next 12 months. Furthermore, Ecobank will facilitate ATM acceptance for American Express in all its operational countries in Africa, except for Cape Verde.

Announced at the African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings 2024, this agreement aims to bolster the American Express global network by increasing the availability of its Cards in Sub-Saharan Africa. This initiative will also help merchants attract a new customer segment comprising American Express consumer, business, and corporate Card Members from Africa and across the globe.

"We are delighted to welcome American Express to our network, reinforcing our commitment to offering innovative payment solutions for customers across Africa,” said Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group. "This agreement will benefit American Express Card Members, providing them with greater choice and will help merchants to grow their businesses. It also highlights the scalability of Ecobank’s unrivalled borderless banking ecosystem and network across Africa."

Mohammed Badi, President of Global Network Services at American Express, commented: “This agreement with Ecobank is a major milestone for American Express acceptance across Africa as it will expand our presence in sub-Saharan Africa to 42 countries from 30 at present. With Ecobank’s support, we look forward to providing merchants in these countries access to higher-spending American Express Card Members both in Africa and from around the world.” 

This collaboration aligns with Ecobank’s Growth, Transformation and Returns strategic agenda. Ecobank is committed to offering its retail customers innovative and easy-to-use financial solutions through its unified banking platform across Africa.