Visa has partnered with financial technology firms _able and Onafriq to help banks and other financial institutions provide credit through existing debit and prepaid cards across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMEA).

The partnership centres on Visa Flex Credential, a product that allows one card credential to draw from different funding sources. 

The companies say the arrangement could give more consumers access to credit without requiring them to take up a separate card.

Card ownership has grown in several African markets, but access to formal credit is still low. About 6% of Africa’s population has access to formal credit, according to figures provided for the initiative.

Nigeria shows a different side of the gap, with debit card ownership among Nigerian adults reaching 48.3% in 2024, compared with 35.3% in 2021. The figure also stands well above the 16.3% average recorded across sub-Saharan Africa.

That leaves banks and other financial institutions with a large base of customers who already use cards but may have limited access to credit.

Visa Flex Credential is designed to let participating issuers add credit to eligible debit and prepaid credentials. Customers can then use an existing card to access different sources of funds, depending on the issuer’s setup.

_able will provide the credit technology behind the partnership, while Onafriq will support payment processing for eligible prepaid card deployments. Visa, for its part, will provide the card technology and payment network.

“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.”

The arrangement also builds on _able’s work with banks, mobile money providers and other financial institutions. The company, formerly known as Credable, rebranded in 2026 as it expanded from a credit-focused business into a broader financial infrastructure platform.

Read more: https://techeconomy.ng/visa-able-onafriq-expand-credit-access-africa