Instacard enables instant issuance of virtual cards for both online and offline payments, through an all-in-one card-issuing platform. Issue them in your own Standalone App or inside your existing mobile app through the UNIFOS Super SDK.
Unified Financial Operating System for Banks
Card Issuing
Empowering issuers to provide instant virtual card issuance for secure online and offline payments. The Universal card lets customers reach any of their virtual Instacards through a single physical card, linked one at a time.
Instant issuance of virtual cards in debit, credit, prepaid and gift forms
Secure online payments using virtual cards with dynamic CVV
Secure contactless payments using virtual cards
Card control settings to set transaction limits for online and offline use
Card lifecycle management: credit card repayments, prepaid top-ups and card statements
Universal card for offline payments: one physical card, linked in seconds to any of your Instacards
Instant virtual cards for online and offline payments, with the option to link any of them to a Universal card and pay with one physical card
What each side gains
More Virtual Cards for the Bank, One Physical Card for the Customer
Instacard turns card issuing into a moment in the app. The bank reaches more customers through the network it already has. The customer gets the right card at the right time.
For the bankFor the customer
SpeedFor the bankCards go live the moment they are issued, so spending starts the same day.For the customerA card in the wallet in seconds, ready to pay online at once.
ChoiceFor the bankDebit, credit, prepaid and gift programmes from one platform.For the customerAny card type on the accounts they already hold.
ReachFor the bankSealed Universal cards at your branches, agents and retail touch points such as supermarkets, or ordered online.For the customerA Universal card picked up at a branch, an agent or a retail touch point such as a supermarket, or ordered online, and activated in the app.
ControlFor the bankFee plans, limits and merchant controls set per programme on the Partner portal.For the customerDaily limits per channel, PIN change and block or unblock in the app.
Universal card
One Sealed Card, Every Virtual Card Behind It
The Universal card is the physical form of Instacard, issued on the UNIFOS platform. It works for every UNIFOS partner and their customers, and carries no bank logo and no customer name, so your bank can stock it at its branches, alongside our agents, retail touch points such as supermarkets and online orders. In your app, the Super SDK for commercial banks or the Standalone App for microfinance banks and fintechs, customers activate the card and instantly link any virtual Instacard you issue them, debit, credit, prepaid or gift, for use at any POS or ATM.
01
Pick up a sealed card
One physical card with no bank logo and no customer name, from your branches, our agents, retail touch points such as supermarkets, or ordered online.
02
Activate in your app
Scan the card’s QR, match the face and set the PIN. Verifyed checks the customer again at this moment.
03
Link a virtual Instacard
Debit, credit, prepaid or gift: any card form, one at a time. A new link replaces the earlier one within seconds, whenever the customer wants.
For the bank: more cards in use, card issuance that becomes significantly profitable, and more transaction income. For the customer: one physical card in the wallet, and many virtual cards in the digital wallet in the app.
Virtual cards in every form
Issued in Seconds, Kept in a Digital Card Wallet
Customers add a virtual debit, credit, prepaid or gift card the moment they need one, on the accounts they already hold with you. Each card is stored securely in a digital card wallet for online and offline payments. Card control settings let customers set daily limits for online, POS, ATM and contactless use, and block or unblock any card. Every card is tokenised: tokens stay secret in the card vault and only a token reference or a masked card number is exposed, except during an online payment, when the customer sees the full card number and a dynamic CVV.
- Choose debit, credit, prepaid or gift
- Pick the account: core and digital accounts side by side
- Confirm with your Verifyed soft token or an OTP sent by SMS
- See the card in the wallet, set a PIN and pay
When the card fee is taken (none before issue)
DebitRight after issue, from the linked account
CreditOn the statement, at the end of the cycle
Prepaid and giftFrom the first load; never loaded, never charged
DTS · patented Dual Transaction Service
Offer Credit on the Debit Cards Your Customers Already Carry
You issue a virtual credit card in seconds. The customer spends it online and contactless from the app, and in store through DTS on a debit card they already hold or a physical Universal card. Credit income starts with the first purchase.
Issue
Virtual credit card
Issued in seconds in the app, on a pre-approved limit from your credit rules.
Spend
Online, contactless and in store
The virtual credit card pays online and contactless from the app. In store, customers use it through DTS on the debit cards they already carry, choosing “Credit” at a POS or ATM that offers it, or through a linked physical Universal card.
Repay
Interest-free to the due date
The issuer decides the interest-free days from purchase to due date and the cycle date, set per programme. Customers repay in the app.
Commercial banks on the Super SDK run DTS through IMS, our Institution Management System on their premises, which maps the debit cards on your core to the new credit line. See how DTS works
Partner portal · Card programmes
Your BINs, Your Card Faces, Your Rules
Your team sets up each card programme on the Partner portal. Card management is fully tokenised: systems only ever see a token reference, and the token itself stays secret. A programme goes live only after a maker and a checker approve it.
BIN ranges
The card number blocks your bank holds, with the card network, card type and currency of each, and how many card numbers are left to issue.
Programme set-up
Debit, credit, prepaid or gift, with its fee plan, limits and eligibility.
Where the card works
Domestic only or international as well, set per programme.
Credit terms
For credit cards: the interest rate, the interest-free period from purchase to due date, and the statement cycle date.
Card face and logo
Upload your own card face design or pick a colour, add your logo, and see it live before it goes out.
Controls
Issuance plans, merchant controls and delinquency rules.
Lasting Value for Banks Across Africa
BALANCE manages every credit card and prepaid card account, with card lifecycle management: credit card repayments, prepaid top-ups and card statements. Microfinance banks run on BALANCE core banking. Commercial banks keep their own core, connected through IMS.
Verifyed checks every customer with active and passive liveness, face match against BVN and NIN photos and ID reading. Customers set up a soft token in seconds, with 30-second codes that work offline. Online, the PIN is the first factor and the token the second.
Boost digital adoption with Rewa, a tailored loyalty programme that credits usage-based points to a dedicated rewards account. Your team sets the rules on the Partner portal. Customers earn, track and redeem their points directly in your app.
Offer instant virtual cards in debit, credit, prepaid and gift forms for both online and offline payments. With the Universal card, one physical card reaches any of the customer’s virtual cards, linked one at a time, delivering convenience, control and a seamless payment experience.
Ace, our AI Credit Exchange, supports the full lifecycle of credit products, from three-way underwriting (your rules, an AI Checker and the credit bureau) to instant disbursement, loan management and collection of due and delinquent payments. It runs on BALANCE or through IMS on your core.
Next-gen virtual card issuance for both online and offline payments, with the convenience of linking any of your virtual Instacards to a physical Universal card, so customers pay from a single physical card
Explore More of Our Solutions
Digital Accounts
BALANCE powers a full-featured digital account ecosystem: digital banking and account management for credit and prepaid cards, loans and rewards, in your own Standalone App or inside your existing app through the UNIFOS Super SDK.
Know More
Merchant Acquiring
Accepto gives you the tools to onboard merchants instantly with KYB, accept dynamic QR, SoftPOS, POS, payment links and online checkout, and manage terminals from one secure dashboard. Fundu agents offer cash deposits and withdrawals, bills, airtime and Universal card pick-up services at a shop around the corner.
Know More
Digital Lending
Ace helps you build and scale a profitable lending portfolio, from three-way underwriting to loan disbursement and recovery, all managed on one compliant system.
Know More
Dual Transaction Service
With the patented DTS, you offer instant credit through the debit cards your customers already hold. Drive engagement and grow income on the cards already in their wallets.
Know More
KYC & Soft Token
Verifyed makes identity verification effortless with facial recognition, liveness detection and a soft token as the second factor, helping you onboard customers securely and at scale.
Know More
Loyalty Management
With Rewa, you design, launch and manage loyalty programmes that reward usage, increase customer engagement and show earned points in real time.
Know More
Frequently Asked Questions
Instacard issues every card form (debit, credit, prepaid and gift) instantly, for online and offline payments, in your own Standalone App or inside your existing app through the UNIFOS Super SDK. With card control settings, customers set daily limits for online, POS, ATM and contactless use, and see their card statements and transaction history in the app. They can also pick up a Universal card and link any of their virtual cards to it, to pay with one physical card at any POS or ATM.
Launch the Future First
Launching a digital bank? Adding products to your app? Get your own mobile bank in your brand, or the UNIFOS Super SDK inside your app. Tomorrow’s banking, live today. Launch in weeks, on a revenue share.