MTN South Africa Launches MoMo Pay to Digitise the Informal Economy
MTN South Africa has officially launched MoMo Pay, a digital payment platform designed to help individuals and small businesses—especially in the informal sector—accept cashless payments quickly and affordably.
Designed for simplicity and accessibility, MoMo Pay is MTN’s answer to the long-standing dominance of cash in the country’s informal economy, which accounts for over 95% of transactions in that sector.
With MoMo Pay, merchants can accept instant payments via QR codes, merchant IDs, or payment requests—all at a transaction fee of just 0.5%, significantly undercutting existing service providers. In a market where informal traders are often excluded from digital financial services due to cost and complexity, MTN’s new offering promises to unlock wide-reaching economic opportunities.
Safaricom Expands Credit Access for Kenyan Small Businesses
Safaricom, has today unveiled improved credit solutions for businesses by expanding its solutions to micro small and medium businesses.
The initiative aligns with Safaricom’s commitment to driving financial inclusion for businesses across Kenya. Businesses will have access to credit through an overdraft facility, Fuliza Biashara and a Term loan ‘Taasi Till’. Taasi Till is a business credit offers short-term credit ranging between Kshs 1,500 to Kshs 250,000 depending on eligibility.
Through Fuliza Biashara, Lipa na M-PESA Merchants can draw multiple overdrafts from a minimum of Kshs 1000 to Kshs 400,000 based on their assigned limit. As part of the revamp, merchants will now be able to repay their overdraft flexibly recovered when there’s inflow on the till to allow business continuity. The credit solutions are available via the M-PESA Business App or USSD *234#.
Read more: https://techafricanews.com/2025/05/21/safaricom-expands-credit-access-for-kenyan-small-businesses/
Fintech Duo Collaborate to Tackle Remittance Costs in Africa
According to the World Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest remittance costs globally, with an average of 8.72% for sending $200 in 2022. Additionally, 52% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to formal financial services.
Access to fast and reliable remittance services is crucial for individuals in emerging markets. However, traditional remittance solutions often come with high fees, delays, and limited accessibility. In Africa, where mobile wallets and bank transfers are essential for financial inclusion, ensuring a seamless payout experience is critical.
Read more: https://www.itnewsafrica.com/2025/05/fintech-duo-to-tackle-remittance-costs-in-africa/
South African FinTech Sava Raises $2M in Pre-Seed Funding
South African FinTech Sava has raised pre-seed funding worth $2 million, which will go towards the company’s business-to-business (B2B) spending and budgeting solution, a report from Techbuild.africa said Thursday (June 30).
The company focuses on two specific business problems: Companies don’t have the tools to manage expenses and business owners and employees spend too much time on recordkeeping and reconciliations.
The report said the founders started the company because of problems they experienced in their previous businesses.
CEO Yoeal Haile says the spend management approach the company uses helps businesses of various sizes get tools to run a financial operating system in the background.
South Africa: Strategic push for pan-African payment solutions as Onafriq appoints new executive
Africa’s digital payments network, Onafriq has announced the appointment of Simon Black as an independent non-executive director on the Board of Directors of its holding company, Onafriq UK Holdings Limited, effective immediately.
A highly respected leader in the global fintech ecosystem, Black brings over three decades of experience building and scaling payments and technology platforms to support Onafriq’s next phase of growth.
Black has earned industry-wide recognition for transforming high-potential fintech and software businesses into market leaders. During his tenure as chief executive officer of PPRO from 2015 to 2023, he steered the German-based payments infrastructure provider from an emerging start-up to a formidable global player, driving revenue growth beyond €100m while expanding the team to more than 500 professionals across many markets.
Visa Moves to Simplify Commercial Payments for Financial Institutions
Visa has launched a new initiative called Visa Commercial Integrated Partners to improve how fintechs and business application providers connect with the payment giant’s commercial platform.
The program allows financial institutions to offer integrated payment services through advanced APIs without the need for lengthy technical development.
By embedding Visa products directly into platforms such as enterprise resource planning, expense management, and vehicle apps, financial institutions can provide virtual card payments, enhanced transaction controls, and richer data services to their business customers.
Read more: https://fintechnews.sg/111745/payments/visa-commercial-payments/
