Branch Raises USD 170 Million Series C, Intros in-app Virtual Card

Branch has today announced a new partnership with Visa which will see a virtual Visa prepaid debit cards being offered to over 2 million customers in sub-Saharan Africa. This partnership comes after Branch International closed a $170 million (Kshs 17.11 billion) Series C funding that was led by Visa and Foundation Capital. Branch will implement Visa payment services into its platform, which will allow its consumers to make payments using a card or a phone. This is also a move by Visa to leverage on mobile to digitize payments. It is also a strategy by Visa to collaborate and invest in rapidly growing FinTech companies like Branch, who are able to reach consumers and merchants that don’t use traditional financial services.