Ethiopia's Dashen Bank is implementing payments and card management technology from ACI Worldwide which it will use to issue and acquire the country's first Visa cards.
Dashen Bank is the first bank in Ethiopia to be appointed a principal member of Visa and will launch its first Visa card in December 2005.
The bank is deploying the ACI's Base24 transaction processing platform as well as the vendor's Card Management System and Smart Chip Manager products. The bank will use the technology to issue Visa smart cards and authorise, route and switch both ATM and PoS transactions.
ACI's local parner in Ethiopia, SS Communications, will provide the bank with implementation and support services.
Richard Launder, MD, ACI Worldwide Emea, says: "With ACI's technology in place, Dashen Bank can address a wide range of processing needs for its e-payment operation, including multi-currency and the issuance of smart cards and e-commerce."