VeriFone strengthens partnership with leading Nigerian payment Switching Company InterSwitch

VeriFone Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PAY) today announced that it has secured further deals with InterSwitch Limited., the leading transaction switching and electronic payment  processing company in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, to roll out GPRS enabled Point-of-Sale terminals.
InterSwitch is Nigeria’s leading e-Payment solutions provider with a recognised presence among Nigeria’s retail, government, corporate  and banking fraternities. As one of Nigeria’s top-10 recognised brands (Financial Standard Newspaper, 2005 edition) it will actively market VeriFone’s Vx 610 – one of the most advanced portable payment systems on the market – to restaurants, clubs, hotels, and retailers across Nigeria.  The agreement with InterSwitch Limited is a further step in VeriFone’s worldwide expansion, supporting its position as the global leader in secure electronic payment solutions. 
Any Nigerian cardholder will now be able to use their Nigeria Debit Cards (Otherwise known as ATM cards), CashCards and other payment cards issued on the InterSwitch platform at ATMs and Point-of-Sale devices deployed by banks other than their own.  VeriFone’s Vx Solutions are currently being deployed for payment and value-added applications – including loyalty and electronic mobile top-up – in many countries across Africa.
Currently, InterSwitch has an online real-time integration to 23 out of the 25 banks in Nigeria. The integration to the banks allows all entities on the InterSwitch network to share hitherto expensive systems like ATMs, Point of Sales Terminals (POS) etc in a non-obtrusive but yet cost effective manner.
The banks include: Afribank, IBTCChartered Bank, Diamond Bank, Equitorial Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), GT Bank (GTB),Oceanic Bank, PlatinumHabib Bank, Skye Bank, Union Bank of Nigeria, United Bank of Africa (UBA),WEMA, Zenith Bank, Intercontinental Bank, Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, First Inland Bank, Citibank, Ecobank, Sterling Bank, Unity Bank and Spring Bank. “We have a high regard for VeriFone and its excellent product offerings,” said Mitchell Elegbe, CEO of InterSwitch Nigeria. “VeriFone has earned a strong reputation in West Africa through its commitment to helping develop this growing payments sector, and with access to such an advanced terminals it will create the opportunity for us to enhance our strong market presence here.”