Visa Holds ‘FastTrack’ Session In Dubai, PayPoint Rolls Out Amazon Top Off Promotion

Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes Visa’s ‘FastTrack’ mentoring session in Dubai. In addition, U.K.-based PayPoint is holding an Amazon Top Off promotion, while African Export-Import Bank is predicting economic growth in Africa.

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is projecting that economies in Africa will grow by 4.1 percent, Afreximbank said in a statement. The report, titled “The Africa Trade Report 2018: Boosting Intra-African Trade: Implications of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA),” was unveiled by the bank in mid-July.

The report contends that (AfCFTA) will increases trade flows and create opportunities for access to intra-African markets. With the removal of tariffs and cost reductions, the bank said that AfCFTA will encourage economies of scale while reducing production costs. As a result, the report indicated that the agreement may spur domestic production along with investments.

And UAE Exchange has rebranded its Africa operations as “Unimoni,” the company said in an announcement. The new name, short for “universal money,” reflects the company’s goals to bolster its global presence — and provide a broader spectrum of services.

In other news, Lithuania’s ASHBURN International has created comprehensive software to allow brokers to offer their customers a new way to pay for insurance, the company said in a statement. The software allows payment of multiple insurance accounts through a single payment.

On another note, the U.K.’s PayPoint is offering a promotion for first-time users of Amazon’s Top Up Service, the company said in announcement. Consumers will be able to have the opportunity to receive free cash, with Top Ups of £40 or more.

In order to use PayPoint’s service, customers can present a barcode through their Amazon app at a PayPoint store. Alternately, consumers can ask for a unique code printed on a receipt at the register to redeem online. Overall, the promotion is available at 29,000 PayPoint locations.

And Visa, along with Startupbootcamp, held a “FastTrack” mentoring session at Visa’s Innovation Center in Dubai for startups that took part in the Dubai Smart City Accelerator, Zawya reported. During the sessions, applicants are able to pitch experienced industry mentors, and receive feedback in the process.

Discussing the program,  Visa Head of Strategic Partnerships, Fintech and Ventures Otto Williams said the session “provided a creative environment to help stimulate the advancement of smart commerce and digital payment infrastructure, which is an integral component of smart cities and startup communities.”