The Democratic Republic of Congo is stepping into a new era of digital payments as Onafriq, Africa’s largest payments network, teams up with Visa to launch Visa Pay.
The fintech platform links Visa cards with mobile money wallets, making digital payments seamless for millions of Congolese.
It is a welcome development to a country that presently processes around 120 million Visa transactions yearly, generating approximately $450 million from the sector. With Visa Pay, consumers can now fund wallets via M-Pesa, Airtel Money, or Orange Money in a move that has been lauded for enabling smooth access for everyday payments and e-commerce.
“Connecting Visa Pay to mobile money is not just about convenience. It is the interoperability foundation for digital commerce in the country,” said Sophie Kafuti, General Manager of Visa in the DRC.
Onafriq’s Chief Commercial Officer, Christian Bwakira, highlighted the transformative potential that unites Visa’s global reach with Onafriq’s local network. “This partnership opens unprecedented opportunities for innovation and financial inclusion,” he said.
The company’s API infrastructure already links over 1 billion mobile wallets and 500 million bank accounts across 43 African markets.
The launch comes amid strong market growth, with GSMA projecting DRC’s mobile payments industry to reach $3.85 billion in transaction value this year, a 19% compound annual growth rate. “This growth reflects the country’s appetite for digital solutions across retail, government services, payroll, and business collections,” added Bwakira.
Kafuti further revealed that beyond DRC, Visa Pay aims to expand into other African markets where mobile money adoption is high by building a system that smoothly links payments. “For consumers and businesses alike, the partnership marks a new era of convenience, access, and economic opportunity across Africa,” she said.
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