Onafriq, Africa’s largest digital payments network, announced a strategic partnership with Visa to roll out Visa Pay, a cloud-native Payments-as-a-Service platform designed to broaden digital financial access in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The collaboration enables Congolese consumers to fund their Visa Pay wallets directly from mobile money channels, delivering seamless access to everyday digital and e-commerce payments.
Powered by Onafriq’s APIs, the solution supports mobile money collections and disbursements from M-Pesa, Airtel Money, and Orange Money wallets, effectively bridging Visa’s card network with millions of mobile money wallets across the country.
Sophie Kafuti, Visa’s General Manager in the DRC, described the initiative as a straightforward step toward accelerating financial inclusion. She said, the collaboration adds convenience while laying an interoperability foundation that will foster the adoption of digital commerce nationwide.
The partnership arrives at a time of strong market momentum. GSMA data projects the DRC’s mobile payments transaction value to reach $3.85 billion this year, reflecting a 19% compound annual growth rate. The broader market spans retail payments, e-commerce, government services, bill payments, payroll disbursements, and business collections nationwide.
Christian Bwakira, Onafriq’s Chief Commercial Officer, noted that Onafriq has long connected Congolese consumers to Africa and the world by operating as the trusted infrastructure behind the scenes.
He emphasized that combining Visa’s global network with Onafriq’s on-the-ground presence creates unprecedented opportunities for innovation and financial inclusion across Africa. By uniting world-class capabilities with trusted local networks, the partnership aims to unlock transformative prospects for both partners and the millions of consumers they serve.
Beyond the DRC, the collaboration opens the door for Visa Pay to expand into other African markets where mobile money adoption is high and demand for interoperable, digital-first solutions is growing. If successful, the initiative could serve as a blueprint for broader interoperability-driven digital payments across the continent.