Visa has set out a suite of AI, tokenisation and stablecoin capabilities it says will help banks and merchants across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Cemea) prepare for the next phase of commerce – one in which software agents increasingly shop and pay on people’s behalf. The announcement this week groups…
TOPSHOT – People take photographs with Mount Fuji at Lake Yamanakako in snow in Yamanakako, Yamanashi prefecture on December 5, 2025. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images) Yuichi Yamazaki | Afp | Getty Images Travelers who require a visa to enter Japan will pay up to five times more from July 1,…
Visa’s Lineshree Moodley South Africa’s consumers have spent the past few years ditching cash for taps, virtual cards and even payment rings. The country’s businesses, by and large, have not. That is the gap Visa is now targeting, announcing the local launch of Visa Commercial Pay in partnership with First National Bank and Rand Merchant…
Visa is preparing the rails for AI agents to shop and pay on South Africans’ behalf – and a deepening global partnership with OpenAI has added fresh impetus to that effort. As TechCentral reported earlier this month, Visa has enrolled local banks in its Agentic Ready programme, which prepares financial institutions to process fully autonomous…
Rwanda and South Africa have agreed to take steps toward easing travel restrictions and improving mobility between their citizens, including progress on visa normalisation and efforts to address restrictions affecting Rwandan passport holders. The announcement was made on Wednesday, June 17, in Pretoria during a joint press conference by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International…
For millions of people, getting a visa is the key to studying, working or travelling abroad, but applicants on the African continent say the process has become increasingly expensive and difficult due to VFS Global – an Indian company that handles visa applications for dozens of African governments. An investigation by Lighthouse Reports and its…
The African Union on Thursday threw its support behind the 10 African nations competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while Somalia protested a US decision to deny entry to one of the continent’s most prominent football referees. In a statement marking the start of the competition, AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said the…
Only 23% of South African consumers would trust an AI agent to complete a purchase on their behalf, according to new research from Visa, even as the payments company prepares technology that would let software shop, compare prices and pay with no human involved. The finding, released at a media roundtable in Sandton on Tuesday,…
A Somali referee celebrated as Africa’s best has reportedly been denied entry into the United States and sent back to Turkey upon arrival at Miami International Airport, preventing him from officiating at the upcoming Fifa World Cup, according to the world football governing body Fifa. Omar Abdulkadir Artan, 34, who was named the 2025 Caf…
BBC – When Iraq’s football team qualified for the World Cup at the end of March, Abdulla Adnan bought tickets for his country’s matches against Norway and France, which will be played in the US cities of Boston and Philadelphia this month. “To go to a match, a stadium, a crowd, cheering, and see my…
