Shaping Digital Finance in West Africa: Conakry Set to Host GFW2025
Francophone West Africa is at a turning point in its digital transformation. As fintech adoption surges, regulatory frameworks evolve, and digital inclusion gains momentum, the need for structured, cross-sector dialogue has never been more urgent.
Against this backdrop, Guinea is emerging as a regional hub for financial innovation and digital growth. The country will host the third edition of the Guinea Fintech Week (GFW2025) on October 22–23, 2025, at the Riviera Royal Hotel in Conakry, under the theme: “Building the Digital Finance of Tomorrow in West Africa.”
Read more: https://techbuild.africa/digital-finance-west-africa-conakry-gfw2025/#google_vignette
OpenWay Expands into Francophone Africa, Bringing Access to the Best‑in‑Class Way4 Payment Platform Together With Local Expertise
OpenWay, the global leader behind the award-winning Way4 digital payment platform, has officially expanded into Francophone Africa, empowering banks and fintechs in the region with access to its globally recognized payment technology and local service infrastructure.
As part of its commitment to accelerating fintech innovation across the African continent, OpenWay is taking two strategic steps in Francophone Africa:
1. Making its award-winning Way4 platform available to banks and fintechs throughout the region
OpenWay has signed a long-term technology partnership with a leading tier-1 bank in Morocco to support its ambitious digital transformation roadmap. This milestone makes it possible for banks and fintechs across Morocco and Tunisia to adopt Way4, a best-in-class digital payments solution recognized by Gartner and Datos.
Tanzania’s digital payments hit $11.6 billion as real-time system adoption rises
Tanzania’s real-time digital payments more than doubled in value in 2024, with the country’s national switch processing TSh29.9 trillion ($11.6 billion) in transactions by December, up from TSh12.5 trillion ($4.9 billion) in the previous year, according to the Bank of Tanzania’s (BoT) latest financial stability report.
The Tanzania Instant Payment System (TIPS), launched in 2020, allows customers to move money instantly across banks, mobile money wallets, and other licenced financial institutions, an essential step in tackling fragmentation in Tanzania’s payments. In 2024, the system handled 454 million transactions, nearly twice the 236 million recorded in 2023, after participating institutions rose to 46.
“The system has emerged as a key pillar in Tanzania’s digital financial infrastructure, facilitating instant payments and promoting financial inclusion, particularly among underserved communities,” BoT said in the report.
Read more: https://techcabal.com/2025/08/05/tanzania-digital-payments-hit-11-6bn-realtime/
Paymentology introduces PayoCard to scale access to card services in South Africa
With the newly rolled out solution, Paymentology intends to allow digital banks and fintechs to introduce secure, self-service card experiences more efficiently, assisting underserved customers and scaling access to digital payments. The launch positions Paymentology as one of the first processors to release a digital card platform in South Africa.
PayoCard’s capabilities and offering
Enabled by Paymentology’s cloud-first platform, PayoCard focuses on optimising mobile card services through a plug-and-play platform that allows issuers to provide self-managed and safe card capabilities, from real-time balance updates to PIN resets, card freezes, and in-app support, through a single mobile interface.
Additionally, by facilitating access to an intuitive app, PayoCard delivers a mobile-first path to financial services adoption. Paymentology built the tool to suit users’ needs, providing a customer-friendly interface that equips them with digital familiarity and allows them to conduct everyday transactions, as well as to manage more advanced financial products.
BoG Governor urges banks to rethink lending strategy after policy rate cut
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Asiama, has urged commercial banks to reassess their lending strategies in the wake of the central bank’s latest monetary policy decision aimed at revitalising the economy.
Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Bankers Ghana’s post Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) roundtable discussion, Dr. Asiama said the recent 300 basis point cut in the policy rate presents a strategic opportunity for banks to deepen credit support to the private sector.
“This policy adjustment is a deliberate step to ease credit conditions and unlock new avenues for private sector-led growth,” Dr. Asiama noted. “Banks must respond accordingly by revising their business models to direct more capital into productive sectors.”
Fintech gains edge in APAC card payment battle
Rising card volumes spotlight diverging strategies between banks, fintechs, and platform giants.
Fintech firms are gaining a competitive edge in Asia-Pacific’s $24.7 trillion card payment market, as their tech-driven agility allows them to scale faster and compete beyond borders. While banks and platform companies still dominate core segments, fintechs are increasingly shaping how digital payments evolve across both mature and emerging markets.
“Among these three, I see the FinTech players to be more competitive in the market because they are easy to expand, and usually they leverage the technology all over the world,” said Sean Fu, Senior Vice President, Greater China, at Global Payments.
Read more: https://asianbankingandfinance.net/videos/fintech-gains-edge-in-apac-card-payment-battle
