Mastercard and Onafriq partner to increase accessibility to financial services across Africa’s payment ecosystem

Mastercard and Onafriq (previously MFS Africa), a pan-African payments company, have partnered to bring secure, cost-effective, and innovative payment options to consumers as well as small and medium enterprises (SME) across the continent.

Africa’s mobile money sector is one of the most established and fastest growing fintech industries in the world. According to The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2024 by the GSM Association, there are 835 million registered mobile money accounts in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 48% of global users and registering a 19% increase year on year.

Building on Mastercard and Onafriq’s shared commitment to boosting financial inclusion through an omnichannel approach, the collaboration will drive the growth of digital financial services, including mobile money transactions, cross-border remittances, and cross-border settlements.

“Technological advancements are steering the digital financial services industry, and providing accessible digital payment solutions is imperative for empowering consumers to seamlessly transition to digital commerce. At Mastercard, we seek to leverage fintech partnerships in Africa to catalyze transformative change across industries that benefits individuals, communities, and businesses. We look forward to collaborating with Onafriq to pave digital pathways and drive innovation across the continent’s payment ecosystem,” said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, EEMEA at Mastercard.

This collaborative effort will enable Onafriq to take control of their consumer’s digital commerce needs, interactions, and experiences by leveraging Mastercard’s technology. This will contribute towards a seamless transition into the digital economy. 

“Onafriq is focused on making borders matter less by supplying networks and digital payment solutions that give all Africans access to the financial services they need to scale their businesses or to transact. We are excited about our partnership with Mastercard, as we share a strong alignment of vision and mission, interoperability, and markets. In addition, we both understand that financial inclusion is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic priority for economic development in Africa,” said Dare Okoudjou, Founder & CEO of Onafriq.

This partnership reinforces Mastercard’s commitment to bringing 1 billion people into the digital economy by 2025, contributing to a more sustainable world and enabling technology to work for everyone.

About Onafriq

At Onafriq, we connect businesses to the continent through our global omnichannel payment network of networks. With a network spanning 40 African markets, Onafriq connects over five hundred million mobile money wallets, two hundred million bank accounts, and 300,000 agents in Nigeria, enabling domestic and cross-border disbursements and collections, card issuing and processing, agency banking, and treasury services. By connecting global and regional enterprises, mobile money operators, money transfer operators, banks, fintech’s, global development organisations, and online and offline merchants, supported by world-class regulatory and compliance capabilities and a strong regional presence in 10 offices in Africa, and others in the UK, US, and China, Onafriq is ushering in a new era of access for people across the African continent and beyond. https://onafriq.com/

About Mastercard (NYSE: MA)  www.mastercard.com 

Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart, and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments, and businesses realize their greatest potential. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.