Real-time retail payments that enable consumers to send and receive cross-border and domestic transactions digitally are on the rise globally. The increasing proliferation of QR codes, apps, tap-and-go card technology, and small-value payments using proxy identifiers (aliases) such as phone numbers and email addresses have made payments one of the more innovative financial services in recent years. This is also evident in the number of deals that payments startups and established fintechs (paytechs) have been able to close.

In Africa, the progress and extent of reach in the market of digital payments is less documented than in other regions in the world, yet is unique in the scale of transactions that are routed via USSD channels. USSD technology enables the end-user to pay and receive money through mobile money wallets, even if only basic/ feature phones are at hand. These nuances and the progress of digital payments on the continent, enabled by efficient and open underlying payments infrastructure, are analysed and captured in two comprehensive reports:

• The inaugural State of Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems (SIIPS) 2022 report
• The State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems in Africa (SIIPS 2023) report

AfricaNenda, an initiative with the World Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), partnered with Cenfri to map the retail instant payment ecosystem in Africa, and analyse to what extent the systems are inclusive, i.e. accessible to all. Apart from a landscaping report that contains analysis of the major trends and barriers in the instant payment systems on the continent, the reports contain additional case studies and end-user research.

For further information on our work in digital payments and payment systems in Africa reach out to: antonia@cenfri.org