Passport to Nigeria

A bit of mysterious information in the reporting of a story of out Nigeria this week. Houston, Texas-based PassportUSA is making moves to facilitate the introduction of the Nigerian e-commerce market. The conflict of information begins with just how far along this implementation is. According to TMCnet, citing wire African News Dimension, PassportUSA is in an “advanced stage of completion” in their credit card project. A Business Day online piece of early in the week made it sound as though the PassportUSA / Nigeria agreement was a done deal. This source wrote that all that remains is for PassportUSA to choose one or two banks which will distribute debit cards. Under the scheme, PassportUSA would act as the processor of the debit card while local banks would issue them, and DHL USA would provide the shipping services.

Should the project see completion, it will “open the US market to the Nigerian consumers who at the touch of a button in their computer or lap top would be able to access about 3,000 merchants in the US to place order for their products,” according to press material. Nigerian resident have not, to this point, been allowed to have products ordered online delivered to their door (or indeed, into the country most of the time). Theft and fraud appear to be major concerned, but PassportUSA representatives have promised that the product will get “real-time customer support and care” along with “first class security,” fraud protection and all the advantages of CRM.

Another concern currently being ironed out among PassportUSA, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian ministry of finance, is questions of banned goods. Again, PassportUSA believes that their CRM (now here’s a big contract in the making for a proper solution) will assist in the needed diligence. The system is scheduled for a July launch. PassportUSA also seeks to target burgeoning consumer markets in Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Peru and South Africa.