3Line unveils payment card for unbanked

A unique e-payment card targeted at the unbanked population and branded Freedom Card was last week launched in Lagos by 3Line Cash Management Limited. Speaking at the event, the General Manager of the firm, Mrs Funke Ade-Ojo, noted that the card enable the holder to transfer money through the Automated Trading Machines (ATMs) and the Point of Sale (POS), make cash withdrawals and also pay for services electronically, without having to own a bank account.She explained that the Freedom Card liberated the unbanked by placing in their hands a card that could provide universal service access to financial and light banking services known as street banking, adding that the company had invested in the highest level of card security in the market, with a view to offering protection to card users.We are passionate about the Freedom Network. We are passionate about the masses. We believe the informal sector should not be ignored. That segment of the economy has been neglected for too long. Now is the time to move the people in this category into the financial ecosystem, she said.She explained that in preparation of the technology, the company took into consideration security, fraud and risk management, stating that there were abundant benefits for users.The Senior Manager, Banking and Payments System Department of the CBN, Mr. E.I. Nwaji, commended 3Line for the product, stressing that the monetary authority  believed in the ability of the company to deliver, which he said, informed the  approval for the roll out of Freedom Card.According to 3Line, it took about three years of research and development (R&D) to come up with the product. It said it had already engaged 52 Freedom Network Merchants for the marketing of the card and planned to recruit about 1,000 merchants by December this year. A card holder can load a maximum of N250, 000 on the card and can transfer  a maximum of N10,000 at a maximum 5 times, amounting to N50,000 daily, while withdrawal is also N10,000 maximum at any time, up to five times in a day.
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