Mastercard Partners with Kalabash54 to Launch Travel Card in Nigeria and Ghana

Mastercard and Kalabash54, the fintech arm of Wakanow Group, a prominent West African online travel company, have partnered to introduce a cutting-edge travel card for customers in Nigeria and Ghana. This collaboration is designed to deliver a secure and convenient digital payment solution tailored to meet the unique needs of travelers in the region.

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The Kalabash54 travel card offers a comprehensive range of features for managing travel-related expenses. Users can fund their trips directly through the Kalabash54 app, using either a physical or virtual card, with the option to transact in local currency or USD. Key benefits of the card include worldwide acceptance, airport lounge access, exclusive discounts, and a loyalty program that offers cashback and other rewards. Security is a top priority, with robust fraud management measures and user-controlled features such as activation, PIN changes, and security controls.

This initiative comes at a time when Nigeria and Ghana are witnessing a significant surge in the adoption of digital payment solutions, driven by increased internet penetration and growing consumer purchasing power. The Kalabash54 travel card aims to capitalize on this trend, offering a reliable and widely accepted payment method for international travelers.

“We are excited to collaborate with Kalabash54 and Wakanow to bring this innovative travel card to Nigeria and Ghana,” said Folasade Femi-Lawal, Country Manager, West Africa, Mastercard. “Mastercard is dedicated to fostering a more inclusive, digital economy, where every journey is enhanced by seamless financial services.”

Bayo Adedeji, Group Chief Executive Officer of Wakanow Group, highlighted the collaboration’s potential to enhance the travel experience through secure and efficient payment options. Ladi Ojuri, Chief Executive Officer of Kalabash54, emphasized that the partnership aims to empower customers with innovative financial tools, facilitating seamless global travel.

The Kalabash54 travel card is expected to boost electronic payment adoption in the travel and tourism sectors of both countries, while also promoting financial inclusivity by providing secure and accessible payment solutions.

This article is for informational purposes only. Features and benefits may vary based on legal and financial terms and conditions.

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Post-Brexit: data protection
Card processor sends sensitive data to wrong address
24 August 2022

Worldline SA subsidiary Payone GmbH has been accused of breaching data protection rules after it sent sensitive employee payroll information to the wrong address by accident. The Worldline Group holdS a 60% stake in the Frankfurt based company who have a small UK market presence.

In June 2021, one of Payone GmbH’s ex UK employees (the data subject) received a “potential data breach notification” from the firm advising him that his salary, National Insurance data, nationality (Special Category Data) was amongst various bits of information sent to an incorrect home address.

This included personal information such as the former employees name, age and address.  It also included details such as the date of birth and the amount of annual work bonus he received in his bank account amongst other identifiable data.

Payone GmbH confirmed that this document was sent out in error following an employee making a mistake when re-entering data processed by their third-party payroll provider.  The error arose when the employee was fulfilling an Article 15 GDPR request. The error was spotted by the data subject when he noticed in an email version of the document that the postal address was incorrect. An attempt to notify Payone GmbH of the error went in vain as the document was already irretrievably despatched.

The data subject was alarmed with the incident which exposed him to the possibility of fraudulent activity, amidst reasonable fears his data could end up on the dark web and used by criminals.  Habitually resident in the UK he complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in June 2021. He similarly raised the concern in Germany via The Hessian Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HBDI).

The ICO reprimanded Payone GmbH for the error in their final decision letter.
Similarly, the HBDI cited a violation of Article 5(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) relating to integrity and confidentiality.

The ICO stated in their July 2021 findings that Payone GmbH, “should take steps to ensure that all personal data records are accurate and up to date. Holding inaccurate information, such as addresses, does increase the risk of personal data breaches and poses risks to the security of information”.

The HBDI confirmed in their October 2021 findings that Payone GmbH had taken remedial action. They concluded that a monetary fine would not be imposed on Payone GmbH as they had taken technical and organisational steps in response to the data breach. Data subjects could now request their data in an autonomous portal.

The GDPR, which came into effect in 2018, gave the Information Commissioner’s Office greater powers to tackle data breaches. The new ‘UK GDPR’ charts its own course after Brexit whilst seeking to maintain EU GDPR adequacy.  In extreme scenarios, organisations face penalties of up to £20m or 4 per cent of their global worldwide turnover, whichever is more.

In the years prior to GDPR, the ICO fines were capped at £500,000.

The data subject said: “I am just glad I spotted it; they were going to resend the document again to another wrong address. Prior to Brexit the process would have been commenced via the ICO who in turn would liaise with the HBDI on the data subjects’ behalf; but I found myself communicating with both authorities separately which was an additional step but in the end was surprisingly
effective. Unfortunately, Payone GmbH again sent my incorrect address to the
Workers Pension Trust in January 2022, and documents yet again went to the wrong address. In my opinion they have not learned from the first time and my complaint is sitting with the ICO yet again”.

The former employee is pursuing a remedy under Article 82 UK GDPR via
the Court’s of England & Wales.

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