Empresa Interbancária de Serviços (EMIS), operator of Angola’s only interbank network, and MasterCard have announced a landmark partnership that sees all ATMs in the country accept MasterCard debit, credit and pre-paid cards.
Tourists, business travellers and local citizens carrying MasterCard payment cards can now withdraw Angolan currency, Kwanza, from more than 2,600 ATMs, owned by the 23 banks in the EMIS network. Prior to the partnership, MasterCard cardholders could only access funds at 65 ATMs in the country.
ATM usage has increased rapidly in Angola since 2010, when EMIS reported over 60 million transactions. In 2013, this number more than doubled to over 134 million transactions, attributed in part to the growing numbers of foreign visitors.