Tag Archives: Digital payments

PayShap – South Africa’s first rapid payments programme launched

Ashlin Perumall, Partner, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg In March 2023, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) announced the launch of PayShap, a real-time rapid payment platform that is aimed at offering safer, faster and significantly more convenient payment options for South Africans. PayShap is the outcome of an industry-spanning collaboration, driven by BankservAfrica, the Payments Association […]

Why the promise of a cashless society is key to unlocking the Nigerian commerce growth opportunity

By Justin Floyd, CEO of open commerce platform, Redcloud  Cash is a uniquely expensive and inconvenient way to do business. However, shifting to a world of cashless payments is easier said than done, as many policymakers have discovered to their cost. The Nigerian Government is taking unprecedented steps to reduce the economic reliance on cash and […]

A Payment Solution for Africa That Bypasses Complexity

Understandably, merchants are finding it increasingly difficult to keep abreast of all the latest payment products and solutions that are available. “It is complex and costly for merchants to manage their own integrations into multiple solution providers. Merchants should be focusing on their core businesses and leave payment complexities to specialist companies,” says Andrew Springate, […]

Budget’s focus on taxpayer relief bodes well for bill payments

South African’s can say thank you to the Minister of Finance for providing some tax relief during his maiden Budget speech that will put money back into their pockets – something that bodes well for economic activity and the bill payments sector. In the 2022 Budget Speech, delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday, […]

Payment fraud – top five scams to look out for

The truth is, all businesses are at risk of being scammed at some point, and just one incident can cost a company millions of Rand. Ryan Mer, CEO, eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee™ (KYP) platform provider, says that fraudsters are constantly finding new ways to exploit vulnerabilities and attack corporate payment systems and it’s […]

2021: The year of the online payment

As the world moved indoors two years ago, the online payment space flourished. These are the biggest developments in 2021, and a brief look ahead. This year, South Africans embraced e-commerce, mobile commerce and digital payments like never before – all four major banks have seen massive increases in these payment methods since the start of the […]

Paysend reaches 5 million customers globally in under 5 years

One of the world’s fastest growing FinTechs having added 1.5 million customers in the last 6 months alone. Accelerating customer growth driven by strategic investment following landmark $125M Series B funding round in May 2021. Investment and innovation driving financial inclusion, set to unlock $5.4bn in annual savings for consumers and SMEs by 2025. Paysend, […]

Failing To Win

A new book from Burnet Media, Cape Town will inspire and guide the next generation of African entrepreneurs. Failing To Win by Mike Quinn is the authentic story of a uniquely African startup at the forefront of the continent’s fintech revolution. Inspired to become the “M-Pesa of southern Africa” after Kenya’s pioneering mobile money innovation, […]

Africa is perfectly placed to take advantage of new payment solutions

Digital innovation has evolved payments solutions at breakneck speeds. Everything from contactless payments, QR codes and digital wallets … consumers today have so many new ways to pay. The big challenge, however, is to ensure that the millions of South Africans who still use cash are able to access these services. “Unfortunately, cash still dominates […]

Municipal Payments Essential for South Africa’s Future Cities

The urban population in Africa has swelled from 15% of the total population in 1960, to over 40% in 2010 and is set to exceed 60% by 2050[ii]. It is anticipated that South Africa will follow suit. In fact, current projections indicate that an additional 19 to 24 million people will be added to the […]

Tech tipping point

New technology often seems fantastic on paper yet has little impact in the life of the average person. A new tipping solution for fuel pump attendants, however, does both. When asked to fill up a fuel tank as motorists do in the movies, few South Africans would know what to do beyond pulling their tank […]

Peach Payments expands into Mauritius, serves as key event sponsor at Africa FinTech Festival

Peach Payments is pleased to announce that it has set up an office in Mauritius recently in pursuit of its pan-African expansion strategy. As a FinTech start-up that was set up in South Africa in 2012 and expanded into Kenya in 2018, the company is set to make a significant contribution to the pan-African FinTech landscape […]

Banks across Africa Turn to IBM Hybrid Cloud and AI Solutions to Accelerate Digital Innovation

Africa’s leading banks including EcoBank, Nedbank, Attijariwafa Bank, United Bank of Africa, Co-operative Bank of Kenya and Banco Mais are tapping into IBM technologies to help advance financial inclusion across the continent IBM today announced that major financial institutions across Africa have selected hybrid cloud and AI capabilities from IBM to unlock digital innovation and continue […]

Fintech Startup SOL announces rebrand with exciting new virtual card offering

SOL unveils virtual card and new brand as it redefines the customer experience SOLmate, an online payment platform that offers clients a digital wallet facility, has unveiled an exciting new product offering together with an extensive rebrand and renewed corporate vision. Following a name change to SOLmate, the fintech has launched a new, innovative virtual card […]

The Protection of Personal Information Act: How will it impact SA’s payments landscape?

The Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) came into full effect from 1 July 2021. The Act is the comprehensive data protection legislation that obliges organisations to lawfully process the personal information of data subjects (both natural and juristic persons) by applying specific principles and conditions. But how will it affect the payments space […]

Cash is king – but digital payments are coming for the throne

Even with a high banked population and a multitude of electronic payment options available, the average South African still use cash for daily purchases and payments with an estimated 78-80% of transactions being in cash. Anton van der Merwe, the recently-appointed COO of Ukheshe Technologies, a fintech enablement partner that works with financial institutions to […]

Avoiding Instant Electronic Funds Transfer payments Risks

In 2020, e-commerce in South Africa spiked by 66%, driven by COVID-19-induced lockdowns and a drop in brick-and-mortar retail sales[i]. This increase was accompanied by an upsurge in the use of instant Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments. Towards the end of last year however, the SA Reserve Bank, Payment Association of South Africa (PASA), and […]

89% of GCC consumers will opt for digital banking services over visiting a physical branch post Covid-19

77% of respondents in the GCC access digital banking services at least once a week 44% are willing to switch to a different bank due to poor customer relations 31% perceive their bank’s current offering of access to online banking services as weak Consumer appetite for digital banking services continues to grow in the countries […]

South Africa’s Leading Payment Aggregator and Secure Payment Solutions Provider Expands into Africa

With the African Continental Free Trade Agreement set to generate combined consumer and business spending of $6.7 trillion by 2030[i],  the continent requires payment platforms to cater for this growth. To this end, Pay@ – a leading South African payment aggregator and provider of secure payment solutions – will be expanding into several African countries and providing […]

Ajua Acquires WayaWaya

Leading Customer Experience Platform for Africa to Integrate Intelligent Messaging and Payments Platform Across its Product Suite  Ajua, the integrated Customer Experience Management solution for businesses in Africa, has acquired WayaWaya, the Kenya-based Artificial Intelligence [AI] and Machine Learning [ML] known for its innovative Janja platform, that enables borderless banking and payments across apps and […]

Affordable digital banking to revolutionise price-sensitive East African payments market

In a region still dominated by cash and mobile money options, like M-Pesa, new collaborations between fintechs are looking to capture the price-sensitive market with innovative, open-loop digital payment solutions in East Africa. According to Mark Dankworth, President International, Ukheshe Technologies, the region is poised for a surge in digital banking growth, with the likes of […]