Verto partners with Visa to launch global multi-currency card for African businesses

Verto, one of the leading B2B global payments platforms, has today announced the launch of its new Verto Card, in partnership with Visa, marking a new chapter in how African companies make international transactions. Accessible to customers worldwide, the Verto Card enables businesses to fund, spend, and settle payments across multiple currencies with zero FX markups on eligible currencies, giving them the control and efficiency needed to operate on the global stage. 

For decades, African businesses with global operations have been constrained by corporate cards tied to a single settlement currency, imposing hidden FX costs, triggering rejected payments, and driving revenue loss. Verto Cards directly address these challenges by leveraging Visa’s reliable commercial rails to deliver guaranteed payment acceptance rates across 11 currencies, with indirect access to 160 more, helping customers maximise profit margins and overcome local banking frictions.

With the new corporate cards directly linked to Verto wallets and accepted by 150 million merchants globally, customers can automatically transact in US Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), Japanese Yen (JPY), Pound Sterling (GBP), Swiss Franc (CHF), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Australian Dollar (AUD), New Zealand Dollar (NZD), Norwegian Krone (NOK), and Swedish Krona (SEK) without the need to manually move funds between wallets or pay a penalty for global operations. 

What the Verto Card offers

For African SMEs, importers, SaaS businesses, and digital media buyers, this means transacting like a local in foreign markets without being held back by hidden FX costs or the payment failures of prepaid cards.

Commenting on the card launch, Ola Oyetayo, CEO and co-founder of Verto, said, “African businesses have been underserved by the card products that exist today. They are either locked into a single currency, hit by undisclosed fees, or declined at checkout because their card runs on prepaid rails. This new partnership with Visa reshapes corporate cards for international businesses, moving beyond the limitations of traditional banking and prepaid card structures and expanding what is possible for global business transactions.”

According to the company, Security and control are built into the Verto Card, with sensitive card data retained within Verto’s platform and all transactions authenticated through 3D Secure verification via one-time passcode or in-app confirmation. Together, these measures ensure secure transaction approval at the point of use, while granular controls by date, time, and merchant category give businesses oversight of how company cards are used.

The backing of a legacy giant like Visa provides the necessary settlement muscle. Shahebaz Khan, Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial and Money Movement at Visa, said, “The future of business payments lies in solutions that combine global connectivity with local innovation. Through our partnership with Verto, we are expanding access to modern payment capabilities that help businesses move money more efficiently, while enabling fintechs and financial institutions to deliver new value to their customers.”

​Looking ahead, Verto is positioning itself as more than just a direct-to-consumer payments provider. The company intends to roll out mobile wallet integrations via Google Pay. More importantly for the broader African tech ecosystem, Verto plans to launch a Cards-as-a-Service offering through its Atlas infrastructure.

​This embedded finance strategy is arguably the most strategic play. By opening up its Atlas infrastructure, Verto is tapping into the growing demand for white-label banking solutions. Rather than building complex regulatory compliance teams and negotiating directly with global card networks, emerging African startups will be able to issue branded corporate cards to their own user bases. This effectively lowers the barrier to entry for new fintechs attempting to solve niche vertical problems across the continent.