Access Bank Plc has partnered with Visa Inc. to introduce a corporate credit card designed to help medium and large Nigerian companies better manage working capital and digitise everyday business expenses, as banks and payment firms expand deeper into corporate finance services.
The Access Bank Visa Corporate Credit Card offers an interest-free period of up to 45 days, providing chief financial officers and treasurers with short-term liquidity to meet supplier obligations while preserving cash flow. According to the bank, the product is structured to help businesses optimise their days payable outstanding, a critical metric for working-capital efficiency.
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The launch comes at a time when Nigerian companies are contending with tight liquidity conditions, elevated borrowing costs and heightened scrutiny around corporate governance, following prolonged macroeconomic volatility and currency pressures.
Beyond access to credit, the card doubles as a digital expense-management tool, enabling firms to automate and track operational spending such as staff travel, entertainment, fuel, diesel and office procurement. Businesses can issue cards to specific departments or employees, reducing reliance on cash transactions and manual reimbursement processes.
“With the added advantage of Visa Spend Clarity, finance teams can seamlessly manage and monitor corporate expenses in real time, all at the click of a button,” said Florence Owuor, head of cards business at Access Bank. She noted that the solution is designed to improve cash-flow efficiency while significantly reducing the time and effort spent on expense reconciliation.
A key feature of the partnership is the integration of Visa Spend Clarity, a web and mobile-based platform that delivers transaction-level visibility across an organisation. The tool allows management to monitor spending by employee, branch or department, providing actionable insights to strengthen budgeting, internal controls and financial oversight.
The initiative reflects a broader strategy by Nigerian banks to grow non-interest revenue and embed digital payment solutions within corporate operations, in line with regulatory pushes toward cashless transactions and tighter financial controls. For businesses, digitised expense tracking has become increasingly important as compliance requirements rise and firms seek to reduce fraud and cost leakages.
Access Bank said the platform helps mitigate risks such as inflated invoices, fraudulent expense claims and the misclassification of personal expenses as business costs common challenges in cash-heavy corporate environments.
Visa said the collaboration supports its goal of expanding digital payments adoption in Nigeria. “The Access Bank Visa Corporate Credit Card brings seamless, accountable and data-driven expense management to medium and large organisations, enabling smarter financial decision-making,” said Andrew Uaboi, Visa’s vice president and cluster head for West Africa.
To support adoption, Access Bank and Visa plan to host monthly webinars for CFOs and corporate treasurers, focusing on working-capital optimisation and effective cost control. The partnership highlights intensifying competition among Nigerian lenders to deliver value-added corporate banking solutions as businesses seek tools that combine short-term financing with stronger cost management in a challenging economic climate.
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