Africa’s payments industry is in the midst of a foundational transformation. What began as a wave of fintech disruption is now maturing into a far more strategic shift — one where national infrastructure, global partnerships, and local innovation are converging to redraw the financial map of the continent.
In 2025, the momentum is undeniable. From national payment switches and tokenised cards to embedded finance and contactless-first ecosystems, the sector is no longer just reacting to global trends — it’s defining them in uniquely African ways. And as the payments space becomes more complex, fragmented, and competitive, one thing is clear: success will favour those who understand the underlying currents before they become breaking waves.
At Calleo, we specialise in identifying these undercurrents. By tracking regulatory developments, partnership movements, technological deployments and behavioural shifts across regions, we offer market intelligence that helps
clients see what’s next — and how to prepare for it.
So, what exactly is unfolding in Africa’s payments space this year?
National Sovereignty Meets Digital Infrastructure
Perhaps the most striking development is the continental movement toward payments sovereignty. In recent months, countries such as Eswatini, Lesotho, Somalia and the Comoros have made public, strategic advances in building their own national payment rails. Whether through the deployment of interoperable switches or the localisation of ATM and POS processing, the region is clearly moving away from dependency on legacy cross-border infrastructures.
This is not a symbolic shift. In Somalia, the launch of a nationwide real-time payment platform — complete with QR code functionality and digital onboarding — is a bold statement of intent from a country often excluded from modern financial systems. In Eswatini and Lesotho, newly operational switching systems are designed not just to reduce costs, but to foster interoperability and local control. Even in more established economies like Egypt and Nigeria, there’s a push to ensure that digital payments infrastructure is domestically anchored.
For regulators, the drive is strategic — a way to protect data sovereignty, reduce capital outflows, and increase resilience. For businesses, this means a rapidly diversifying environment, where integration with national payment architecture will increasingly become a cost of entry.
The New Role of the Card
For years, the demise of the card has been forecast in favour of mobile money, crypto, or instant transfers. But in Africa, cards are staging a comeback — not as legacy plastic, but as programmable, tokenised, and cloud-native tools.
In Nigeria, PalmPay’s plan to issue five million contactless cards in partnership with AfriGO is a clear vote of confidence in physical and digital hybrids. These cards are tokenised for security, built for tap-to-pay functionality, and designed to reach the unbanked — flipping the narrative that cards are for the affluent.
South Africa is also undergoing a significant shift. The phasing out of magnetic stripe cards — a decades-old security risk — is well underway, with banks like FNB already deploying contactless payment terminals at tollgates and retail sites. Meanwhile, startups like Sudo Africa are offering digital-first card solutions that can be activated and used entirely via smartphone — with no need for plastic issuance at all.
We’re also seeing a surge in corporate card innovation. In Kenya, Co-Op Bank has launched a suite of SME-focused cards in partnership with Visa to support credit access and cash flow management. In Egypt, Visa has backed Swypex in a push to modernise business payments, tying transaction data directly to accounting and reporting tools.
What’s emerging is a reconceptualisation of the card — not as a payment format, but as a platform. And this shift is likely to accelerate as more fintechs turn to cards as flexible, programmable enablers of embedded finance.
Payments, Everywhere: The Embedded Finance Era Begins
The consumer’s relationship with payments is changing. Increasingly, we expect payments to disappear — to work in the background, with zero friction and maximum relevance. African innovators are delivering on that expectation by embedding financial services directly into real-world experiences.
This is particularly evident in the rise of contextual and embedded finance platforms. Kenya’s NCBA Loop is one example: a neobank that combines payments, lending, and financial management in one seamless user flow.
Customers can apply for credit, receive funds, and spend immediately — without ever leaving the app environment. It’s a radically different proposition from traditional banking, and a clear signpost of where things are heading.
In South Africa, Stitch’s acquisition of ExiPay represents a similarly strategic move. By adding in-person POS capabilities to its digital payment offering, Stitch is now able to support end-to-end merchant journeys, both online and offline. This kind of integration is what will define the next wave of fintech growth — where service providers are not just offering products, but full-stack solutions tailored to verticals like retail, logistics, or healthcare.
Embedded finance is also becoming a public-sector priority. In Ethiopia, Safaricom is working with the Ministry of Health to digitise healthcare payments, enabling mobile wallet transactions for government-run clinics. In doing so, they’re extending financial services into essential services — an approach that’s likely to be replicated across the continent.
Inclusion as Strategy, Not Slogan
While inclusion has long been a talking point in the payments space, 2025 marks a turning point: inclusion is no longer a byproduct of innovation, but a central design principle.
What’s notable is how companies are achieving inclusion not just by building wallets, but by transforming entire ecosystems. In Nigeria, the meteoric rise of POS terminals — now estimated at over 26 million, far outpacing ATMs — reflects a conscious reimagining of access. These low-cost, high-impact devices have enabled informal businesses to enter the digital economy, generating over two million jobs in the process.
At the same time, new partnerships are reducing friction for consumers and merchants alike. PalmPay’s integration with Jumia has allowed shoppers to use their mobile wallet at checkout, driving adoption through convenience. RealPay, operating across multiple African markets, is helping merchants digitise their collections through a mix of POS devices, QR codes, and mobile integrations — proof that inclusion doesn’t have to mean basic service. It can mean smart service.
Financial inclusion is no longer about reach alone — it’s about experience, trust, and affordability. And the winners will be those who can deliver all three, at scale.
A Tighter Regulatory Lens
As the payments space grows more sophisticated, so too does the regulatory scrutiny around it. This year has already seen a spate of policy changes designed to bring more structure and security to digital financial services.
South Africa’s Reserve Bank has introduced a directive requiring issuers of EFT credit payment instructions to register, citing concerns around data privacy and fraud prevention. Elsewhere, new industry bodies such as the Association of South African Payment Providers are being formed to coordinate fintech collaboration, improve access to payment rails, and reduce systemic cost.
In Egypt, the formal rollout of Apple Pay and tokenisation standards marks the government’s embrace of mobile wallets — a previously grey area. And in Nigeria, temporary declines in digital transaction volume earlier this year have been linked to regulatory uncertainty, including a now-delayed cybersecurity tax that sparked concerns around consumer costs.
What this points to is a more mature, more controlled payments ecosystem. Innovation is still welcome — but only within frameworks that balance growth with resilience.
Intelligence at the Speed of Change
The African payments landscape is no longer just a fintech story — it’s a full-scale economic, regulatory, and infrastructural evolution. For businesses operating in this space, whether as service providers, investors, or regulators, the need for accurate, forward-looking intelligence has never been more acute.
At Calleo, we track these developments in real time — not just to report the news, but to surface the patterns, implications, and opportunities that lie beneath it. Whether you’re navigating digital transformation, planning market entry, or optimising your payments strategy, our market intelligence services are designed to give you the edge.
If your organisation is looking to understand the trends shaping Africa’s digital finance ecosystem — and where your next opportunity might lie — we’d love to talk. https://calleosolutions.com/contact-us/
