Corporate Profile

Unified Payment Services Limited otherwise known as Unified Payments® is a card-neutral and option-neutral Payments Service Provider owned by a consortium of leading Nigerian banks. Unified Payments® operates as a shared infrastructure for the banking community in Nigeria and Payments Service Provider within and outside Nigeria, with a mission to be the most preferred e-payment service provider in Africa. Formerly known as ValuCard Nigeria Limited, the name of the Company was changed in 2012 to reflect its new business, following a successful transformation from a domestic card scheme to a provider of payment services supporting different payment options and schemes.
Unified Payments is a Principal &Plus Member of Visa and has contributed significantly to the growth of electronic payments in Nigeria. These contributions and exceptional value-innovations include but not limited to:

  • Pioneered the issuance and acceptance of EMV Chip+PIN cards in Nigeria leading to reduction of ATM fraud in Nigeria by over 90%
  • Enabled Nigerian banks to issue first-ever payment cards to Naira accountholders to be used globally
  • Enabled Nigerian banks for first-ever acceptance of foreign cards at their ATMs
  • Enabled Nigerian Merchants the use of Nigerian Naira as transaction currency when cards issued under global card schemes are used at merchant locations in Nigeria. Hitherto, the only acceptable transaction currency was United States Dollars
  • First Nigerian Principal Member of a global payment scheme and the only Nigerian non-bank Principal Member.
  • Joint Acquiring company for Nigerian banks
  • First EMV Third Party Processor in Nigeria

Our major businesses are (i) Processing, (ii) Acquiring; (iii) Payment Terminal Service Provider (PTSP), (iv) Switch and (v) provision of Value-Added Services and Solutions.

  • As Processors, we provide the backbone that enable issuers to issue cards to their cardholder customers and for the cardholders to transact securely with their cards across channels, PoS, Web and ATMs. We also provide the backbone infrastructure that enable Acquirers to acquire transactions at Points of Sale and at ATMs. We are thus Issuer-Processor and Acquirer-Processors.
  • As Acquirers, we provide acceptance services, enabling merchants to accept cards and other electronic means of payment for goods and services. Unified Payments® has the largest non-bank acceptance infrastructure in Nigeria.
  • As PTSP (Payment Terminal Service Provider), Unified Payments has the privileged license of deploying, monitoring and maintaining Points of Sale terminals to Merchant locations on behalf of other Merchant Acquirers.
  • Switching: Given our network of links with banks in Nigeria, Unified Payments® is also able to provide switching services between Issuers and Acquirers in Nigeria, thereby significantly reducing connectivity costs between Issuers and Acquirers as well as increasing the throughput, through a significant reduction in potential points of failure.
  • Ancillary & Value-Added Services: To complement our core business activities, Unified Payments® also provides ancillary services such as Card supply and Card Personalisation & Fulfilment services and supply of hardware and software. Unified Payments® also provides Money Transfer service, Bill Payment solutions, airtime recharge, etc.
History
  • 1997: Incorporated as Smartcard Nigeria Plc
  • 2000: Rolled out the first electronic purse card solution in Nigeria, the first by any Card Scheme in Nigeria
  • 2000: Re-branded as ValuCard Nigeria Plc
  • 2004: Became a Principal Member of Visa International (now Visa Inc.).
  • 2006: Was certified by Visa as being EMV-compliant and commenced Visa acquiring services same year.
  • 2008: Was certified as being Payment Card Industry-Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) Compliant
  • 2008: Decommissioned the ValuCard e-purse product
  • 2008: Successfully transformed from being a card scheme to being a global Payment Card Industry service provider.
  • 2008: Launched the first global internet-based money remittance solution in Africa – V-Money Transfer
  • 2011: Licensed as a Payment Terminal Service Provider by the Central Bank of Nigeria
  • 2012: Re-branded as Unified Payment Services Limited

 

Our Vision

To be the most preferred e-payment service provider in Africa.

Our Mission

To be Africa’s dominant and world-class e-payment service provider by leveraging on our people, processes and technology to enhance commerce and provide utmost value to stakeholders.

 

Our Core Values

 

P-Professionalism

We deliver high quality services that meet the needs of our customers in line with global best practices using the best skills.

 

R-Respect for the individual

We recognize and treat our stakeholders as individuals on the basis of fairness, equity and care.

 

I-Innovation and Customer-Centricity

We recognize the customer as the main purpose of our existence; therefore we constantly strive to ensure we exceed their expectations at all times.

Meeting the needs of our customers inspires us to continuously innovate and update our processes, products and services in a most proactive manner.

 

D-Dependability

We act with integrity. We create an atmosphere of trust and can be relied upon to deliver on our promises.

 

E-Execution through teamwork

We get things done working together.

This is our PRIDE!

 

Board of Directors

 

 

Management

 

 

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