by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – MASTERCARD and Onafriq, a pan-African payments company, have collaborated with a pledge to bring secure, cost-effective and innovative payment options to consumers and small to medium enterprises (SME) across Africa.
Building on Mastercard and Onafriq’s shared commitment to boosting financial inclusion through an omnichannel approach, the collaboration is anticipated to drive the growth of digital financial services, including mobile money transactions, cross-border remittances and cross-border settlements.
“Technological advancements are steering the digital financial services industry, and providing accessible digital payment solutions is imperative for empowering consumers to seamlessly transition to digital commerce,” said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, Europe Middle East and Africa at Mastercard.
“At Mastercard, we seek to leverage fintech partnerships in Africa to catalyze transformative change across industries that benefit individuals, communities, and businesses. We look forward to collaborating with Onafriq to pave digital pathways and drive innovation across the continent’s payment ecosystem.”
This collaboration reinforces Mastercard’s commitment to bringing 1 billion people into the digital economy by 2025.
Dare Okoudjou, Founder and CEO of Onafriq, said, “Onafriq is focused on making borders matter less by supplying networks and digital payment solutions that give all Africans access to the financial services they need to scale their businesses or to transact.”
Africa’s mobile money sector is one of the most established and fastest-growing fintech industries in the world.
According to The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2024 by the GSM Association, there are 835 million registered mobile money accounts in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 48 percent of global users and registering a 19 percent increase year on year.
– CAJ News