AI shopping tools gain traction, yet most South Africans still prefer human customer service interactions. (Image created with ChatGPT) Artificial intelligence (AI), digital wallets and crypto-currency linked payments are rapidly changing how South Africans shop and transact, according to new research from Visa. The latest Spending Shift Survey was commissioned by Visa and conducted by…
Verve International, a subsidiary of Interswitch Group, has reiterated that stronger collaboration among industry players will be critical to shaping the future of Africa’s payments landscape. The firm in a statement noted that the event convened issuer banks, fintech collaborators, merchants and other critical ecosystem stakeholders for strategic engagement, meaningful industry dialogue, and deeper ecosystem…
In this episode of ITWeb TV, Kitso Lemo, associate director at Boston Consulting Group, discusses how technology is reshaping payments in South Africa and the role of fintech innovation in driving financial inclusion. #Fintech #FinancialInclusion #DigitalPayments South Africa’s payments landscape is digitising rapidly, but cash remains deeply entrenched in the economy, accounting for over 50%…
Published: February 12, 2026 MONROVIA — Former Deputy Director of Liberia’s National Security Agency Sam Saryon has cautioned West African governments against negotiating with terrorist groups or paying ransom, arguing that such payments finance extremist expansion and weaken state authority. Speaking in a weekend interview on West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR), Saryon said ransom payments…
Phil Boyall, Sales and Marketing Director at MoData. South Africa’s banking and payments sector is no longer transforming – it is running live, at speed under scrutiny. Regulatory modernisation, real‑time payment rails and rising financial crime complexity have removed tolerance for delay, uncertainty and operational fragility. What used to be absorbed by batch cycles, manual…
The introduction of digital payments for the estimated 10 million South Africans who use minibus taxis daily is central to industry body Santaco’s efforts to propel the industry into the digital era. Santaco spokeswoman Rebecca Phala told TechCentral in an interview on Wednesday that the industry’s evolution is being stymied by manual processes and a…
SMEs are leading South Africa’s digital commerce revolution. Digital payments are increasingly underpinning merchant growth in SA, with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) using them to unlock new revenue streams, expand their reach and build more resilient businesses. These are among key findings highlighted in the fifth edition of Payfast by Network’s State of Pay…
Visa is working to integrate stablecoins into existing payment systems, seeing an opportunity to maintain its market leadership as these tokens gain traction, Visa’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, said in an interview. Stablecoins, cryptocurrencies typically pegged to the US dollar, allow funds to be moved outside traditional banking systems. While their circulation has surged,…
The Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday that it is freezing all federal child care payments to the state of Minnesota in the wake of a viral video that alleged widespread fraud at child care facilities across the state. In a statement and accompanying video on X, Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill and Assistant…
The Mojaloop Foundation and the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), in collaboration with Singapore-based ThitsaWorks and The AfricaNenda Foundation, today announces the launch of the Liberian Inclusive Instant Payments System (IIPS), a modern real-time interoperable payments platform powered by Mojaloop, the open-source payments infrastructure built to advance digital financial inclusion. IIPS will principally enable mobile…
