We need to accept that Africa is in the 21st century and that it has a growing middle class. It’s time to start accepting modern online and offline payment platforms for Africa. There are many companies taking advantage of this, but there are some of the best platforms to use today.
First, you will have to decide which payment platform to use as a merchant. The most common ones are:
Mpesa
Airtel Money
Ecocash
POS
USSD
Bank Transfer
Visa QR
Mobile money
Credit and debit cards
Bank accounts
Modern online and offline payments platforms are emerging in Africa to provide solutions to the complex issues of paying for goods and services online and offline. BitPesa, a Kenya-based bitcoin startup, has raised $1.1m to provide an easy way for businesses and individuals to transfer money across borders using bitcoin's decentralized network. BitPesa provides the means to pay for goods and services both online and offline with their service.
Why do small and medium-sized businesses choose private platforms for their payments?
PayPal is also available in Africa but it primarily caters to e-commerce transactions, which only represent a small fraction of total commerce happening in Africa. The top 10 online payment processing platforms in South Africa are Payate, MoneyMatrix, Yoco, PayFast, Netcash, Peach Payments, SnapScan, PayU, SiD Payment, and Pay Genius.
Payment platforms in Africa have been quite a force to reckon with. According to the World Bank, about 80% of the population in Sub-Saharan African countries uses some form of mobile money to make payments. Small and medium-sized businesses are turning to private payment platforms for their transactions because they prefer the convenience of digital payments over cash.
How small to medium-sized businesses can get benefit from using private payment platforms?
In addition, these businesses are looking forward to receiving more transactions because of the increasing popularity of digital payments. But what exactly is motivating these businesses to make the switch? And how do they benefit from using such private payment platforms?
Electronic payments have had a transformative impact in Africa. The unprecedented growth of electronic payment methods has facilitated the emergence of an electronic payments ecosystem that is enabling millions of people to become financial actors and participate in the economy and to choose modern online and offline payments for Africa.
The use of mobile phones as a payment tool is driving this transformation and making payments easier for consumers and businesses alike. According to GSMA,2 by the year 2020, there were 6.4 billion mobile connections globally, with 90% of these connections in developing countries.