By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Nigeria will partner world’s leading global payments solutions company MasterCard Inc to deploy a new national identity card with payment option to help the country’s drive to financial inclusion.

President Goodluck Jonathan said this on Thursday at a ceremony in Abuja Nigeria according to a Bloomberg report.

The report said only about 30 percent of the about 170 million population of Nigeria, have bank accounts, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, minister of finance said the National Identity Smart Card, or NeID, will operate a prepaid payment system provided by MasterCard and will serve as a platform with which Nigeria can achieve financial inclusion for the unbanked population.

The report quoted Daniel Monehin, MasterCard Division President for sub-Saharan Africa in an interview that for the first time, majority of Nigerians will begin to build their financial history. “This project gives unique identification and access to financial services. It’s a game changer,” Monehin said.

The report further affirmed that 13 million cards will be issued during its pilot phase, thereafter about 100 million Nigerians who are 16 years and older are expected to be enrolled subsequently.