_able, Onafriq, and Visa Partner to Expand Digital Credit Access Across CEMEA with Visa Flex Credential

_able, Onafriq, and Visa have announced a strategic partnership aimed at revolutionizing access to credit across Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA). This collaboration, signed today, is designed to support financial institutions in activating credit options alongside their existing prepaid and debit credentials, leveraging the innovative Visa Flex Credential technology.

Visa Flex Credential allows issuers to offer multiple funding sources through a single card credential, simplifying the customer experience and expanding financial inclusion. By enabling existing debit and prepaid cards to support credit functionalities, this partnership aims to help financial institutions tap into their current customer relationships to deliver new financial services seamlessly.

For _able, this collaboration enhances its platform capabilities, enabling it to support a wider array of banking and mobile money channels. By integrating card-based use cases with digital financial services, _able is committed to helping institutions offer comprehensive credit and savings solutions through a unified, scalable technology platform.

This initiative underscores the importance of collaboration in strengthening financial inclusion—combining Visa’s global payment network, _able’s credit enablement infrastructure, and Onafriq’s payment processing capabilities to deliver impactful financial solutions across the region.

In many African markets, debit and prepaid card adoption has surged, yet access to formal credit remains limited. Visa Flex Credential presents an opportunity for issuers to leverage existing customer relationships and payment credentials to extend additional financial services, creating familiar and trusted payment experiences for consumers.

Onafriq will support payment processing for eligible prepaid card deployments and connect participating institutions to its pan-African payments infrastructure. This infrastructure aims to broaden access to Visa Flex Credential-enabled products, especially in markets where issuers choose to deploy them.

The partnership is designed to streamline implementation for banks and issuers by integrating payment technology, processing, and digital credit infrastructure. _able’s platform assists institutions with portfolio management, risk assessment, liquidity optimization, and customer growth strategies, while Onafriq provides the essential card processing and payment delivery functionalities.

“Most consumers across this region already hold a card, and very few can access credit through it,” said Jad Abbas, Co-Founder and CFO of _able. “Visa Flex Credential turns that gap into a channel, and _able provides the infrastructure to activate it responsibly and at scale.”

“Visa Flex Credential gives financial institutions a new way to deliver more flexible and effortless payment experiences to their customers. By enabling greater choice in how consumers pay, it can help deepen engagement, unlock new revenue opportunities and drive operational efficiencies,” said Godfrey Sullivan, Senior Vice President and Head of Products and Solutions, CEMEA, Visa. “Through collaborations with innovative ecosystem partners such as _able and Onafriq, we are helping issuers explore new ways to broaden access to financial services and meet the evolving needs of consumers across the region.”

“Creating access and making borders matter less across Africa through payments is what our network is built for,” said Christian Bwakira, Group Chief Commercial Officer, Onafriq. “Supporting Visa Flex on prepaid, powered by our proprietary companion card platform and integrated to _able, extends that reach to a new category of credit access — one that gives everyday consumers more confidence to spend, even in markets where economic conditions shift quickly.”

Financial institutions across CEMEA now have the opportunity to leverage Visa Flex Credential on their existing card portfolios via _able’s versatile platform. Designed to operate across multiple processing environments, _able’s platform facilitates seamless implementation as adoption expands across markets.

Headquartered in Dubai, with operational hubs in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and Pune, _able continues to support partners across emerging markets, driving innovation and expanding access to responsible digital financial services.

As demand for accessible, digital financial solutions accelerates, _able remains dedicated to bridging the gap between capital providers and distribution channels through scalable, responsible technology that empowers financial inclusion across the region.