Post a comment 
His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio on Tuesday evening became the first holder of the Flot Ultra Black Card, a Visa card issued in partnership with Zenith Bank Sierra Leone, presented to him at State House by the Flot team ahead of the full launch of flot.ai.
Card No. 001 now belongs to the Head of State. The symbolism was deliberate: the first Sierra Leonean to carry a card built at home to connect citizens to the international financial system.
For generations of Sierra Leonean travellers, the rituals of going abroad have been familiar and wearying: queuing for scarce foreign exchange, carrying cash across borders, and paying premium fares through distant hubs. It was these experiences the discussions at State House set out to retire.
By enabling fully cashless travel, the Flot card removes the need to carry physical currency abroad, easing pressure on government and the banking system to disburse foreign exchange while giving travellers a safer way to spend anywhere Visa is accepted.
The conversation then turned to Flot’s travel offering, which President Bio warmly received. He noted that it has made Freetown International Airport a more competitive gateway for Sierra Leonean travellers, allowing citizens to fly safely and affordably from home rather than through longer and riskier alternatives. The numbers made the point plainly: a route to China that previously cost travellers $2,800 now costs $1,600 under the Flot offering — $1,200 returned to the pocket of every trader and business traveller on one of the country’s most important commercial routes.
“Financial innovation of this kind speaks directly to our vision for Sierra Leone’s place in the world,” President Bio said. “When our citizens can travel cashless, transact globally, and fly affordably from their own airport, we strengthen not only their opportunities but our nation’s competitiveness. I commend Flot and Zenith Bank for building this here, for Sierra Leoneans.”
“Presenting Card No. 001 to His Excellency is a moment of profound pride for our team,” said David Kpakima, CEO of Open Banking Hub, the company behind Flot. “Flot was built on a simple conviction: that Sierra Leoneans deserve the same ease, dignity and access in managing their money as anyone else in the world. From cashless travel to more affordable routes for our business community, this is only the beginning — and the best is yet to come.”
Flot, Zenith Bank and Visa reaffirmed their shared commitment to the highest standards of service, placing customer experience at the heart of their mission to expand financial possibilities for every Sierra Leonean.
Details of the full launch will be announced in due course.
