After a six-month pause, Nigerian fintech Carbon is preparing to reintroduce its card services to meet rising customer demand and respond to industry challenges. The decision to resume follows adjustments in Carbon’s card delivery process and comes after the company suspended its cards earlier this year to reassess its approach.
Carbon hinted that their previous international card provider was costly, and the process wasn’t streamlined enough for the service they envisioned. This time, the fintech company has reimagined the experience to make card access smoother for their customers and easier for businesses to manage. By improving logistics, Carbon aims to meet the needs of customers who rely on cards for convenient access to funds, despite the rise of digital transfers.
Why Did Carbon Halt Card Services?
The decision to suspend card issuance was driven by the challenges of using international card providers, which made issuing costs unaffordable due to high dollar rates. Many Nigerian fintechs have had to rethink their card strategies, given the rising popularity of affordable alternatives like Interswitch’s Verve cards and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Afrigo card, which both operate with local currency pricing and minimal barriers.
Since starting as a digital lender and later obtaining a microfinance license, Carbon’s addition of card services had been seen as a critical part of its growth. However, with dollar-denominated expenses making international cards costly, Carbon, which previously issued Visa cards, opted to pause and rethink its card offerings. According to one source familiar with the process, Carbon’s updated system involves new partnerships to make card collection and delivery more efficient.
Adapting to New Trends in Nigeria’s Fintech Space
In response to rising costs and evolving customer preferences, several Nigerian neobanks, including Moniepoint and OPay, who recently introduced a large transaction shield to combat financial fraud, have turned to locally priced card options. Interswitch’s Verve scheme, which has issued over 17 million cards in Nigeria, has seen particular success. For Carbon, reentering the card space is less about attracting new users and more about improving the experience for existing customers, especially as the fintech operates without branches or an agent network.
For them, offering cards is more about convenience than customer acquisition. They plan to retain existing customers by providing a seamless and accessible way to manage their funds.
What’s Next for Carbon?
Although Carbon hasn’t disclosed its new card provider, the company’s re-entry into card issuance is expected to reshape its role in Nigerian fintech industry. As customers anticipate the return of their Carbon cards, industry experts will be watching to see how this move impacts both competition and customer loyalty in Nigeria’s growing fintech space.
Comments 1