Onafriq, an Africa-based digital payment network, has partnered with Visa to roll out Visa Pay, a cloud-native Payments-as-a-Service platform.
The solution is designed to expand digital financial access across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), enabling consumers in the region to fund their Visa Pay wallets directly from mobile channels. This will unlock convenient and simple access to everyday digital and ecommerce payments.
Driving financial inclusion
Driven by Onafriq’s APIs, the partnership enables mobile money collections and disbursements from M-Pesa, Airtel Money and Orange Money wallets, expanding Visa’s card network to millions of wallets. The initiative represents Visa’s commitment to accelerating financial inclusion in the DRC by connecting Visa Pay to existing mobile money infrastructure to offer convenience and create interoperability.
GSMA research projects that DRC’s mobile payments industry will reach USD 3.85 billion in transaction volume in 2025, a 19% compound annual growth. This refers to retail payments, ecommerce, government services, ill payments, payroll disbursements, and business collections across the country.
Onafriq’s mission is to connect Congolese consumers to Africa and the rest of the world. The partnership furthers this goal by combining Visa’s global network with the company’s presence in the area to create more possibilities for innovation and inclusion. The company believes that development opportunities for businesses and customers are unlocked by uniting global capabilities with localised trust.
Alongside DRC, the alliance paves the way for Visa Pay to expand into other African markets, where mobile money adoption escalates and demand for interoperable, digital-first solutions increases. Onafriq is an omnichannel network of networks, driving borderless solutions by providing its partners with a single pathway to unlock the full power of cross-border and cross-platform payment solutions. Operating in 43 African markets, the company connects mobile money wallets, bank accounts, and agents to enable domestic and international disbursements and collections.
