Africa’s payment sector is undergoing a profound transformation, with Paytech mergers and acquisitions (M&As) reshaping how value is exchanged, how digital economies grow, and who controls the rails of financial intermediation.
From banks and telcos to fintechs and Big Tech, all players are racing to dominate this daily-use space, one crucial not just for business, but for survival in the new digital economy.
Africa’s digital payments economy is projected to hit US$ 1.5 trillion by 2030, with diaspora remittance flows already reaching US$ 100 billion in 2024. Recent landmark deals are a reflection of this momentum. In 2025, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) acquired a 75% stake in Riverbank Solutions for US$ 15.4 M (KSh 2 billion), expanding capabilities in Swipe agency banking, Zed 360 SME tools, digital lending, and Zizi revenue systems for county governments, e-commerce players, and microfinance institutions.
Similarly, in South Africa, Lesaka Technologies acquired Adumo for US$ 96.2 million, consolidating platforms and adding both merchant and consumer clients. MFS Africa acquired Global Technology Partners for US$ 34 million, enabling card payments for mobile money users and unlocking seamless e-commerce and cross-border transactions.
WorldRemit took over Sendwave for US$ 500 million, to strengthen its mobile-based diaspora remittances footprint, while Visa acquired a 20% stake in Nigeria’s Interswitch for US$ 200 million to deepen its integration into Africa’s fast-growing payments space.
These moves are not isolated, they reflect a broader global trend. Landmark deals like Fiserv’s US$ 22 billion acquisition of First Data in 2019, Square’s US$ 29 billion Afterpay acquisition in 2021, and PayPal’s US$ 4 billion Honey buyout have all focused on unlocking new customer segments, ecosystem expansion, and value chain control.
Why Everyone Wants to Control Payments
From an industry standpoint, payments deliver a competitive edge in ways other financial services do not. They provide a sustainable CASA (Current Account and Savings Account) float, enabling low-cost deposits. Payments also ensure daily relevance in people’s lives, unlike more episodic products like credit insurance, and they unlock user data which can be monetized through algorithms and IPR strategies.
Controlling the rails of money supply (M1, M2, M3) is more than just transactional, it’s foundational for digital inclusion, ecosystem partnerships, and future business models. Mastercard’s 2025 vision of reaching 1 billion people, 50 million MSMEs, and 25 million women entrepreneurs reflects this focus. Visa, with over 4.8 billion credentials, 14,500 financial institutions, and 316 billion transactions, also views payments as the central lever of innovation and inclusion.
The surge in digital tools only amplifies this shift. Mobile money platforms like M-Pesa and Apple Pay, digital wallets such as PayPal, super apps like Alipay and Gojek, BNPL models including Afterpay and Klarna, and Account-to-Account (A2A) networks like Brazil’s PIX are all rewriting how value is transferred, faster, cheaper, and more inclusively.
Keeping pace with this transformation requires more than product launches. M&As have become essential for Paytechs to scale fast, adapt quickly, and stay ahead of shifting PESTEL- Political, Economic, Social (including changing demographics), Technological (AI, APIs, IoT), Environmental, and Legal-dynamics.
Beyond adaptability, M&As also unlock synergies. Fast Capital notes that acquisitions redefine market positions and accelerate growth through expanded geographies, customer bases, and technological integration. Whether it’s PayPal embedding Honey’s deal-finder into its ecosystem, or Square issuing credit cards to younger BNPL users, acquisitions sharpen the competitive edge.
This landscape is also being shaped by fierce rivalry. Legacy banks with ageing infrastructure are being challenged by more agile telcos, fintechs, and Big Tech platforms.
For Africa, this battle carries added weight. In a region where cash still holds sway, but digital adoption is accelerating, Paytech M&As signal more than growth, they signal ambition. These deals are a declaration of intent to own the infrastructure of tomorrow’s digital economy, one transaction at a time.
Nicasio Karani Migwi is a banking and macroeconomics specialist, currently serving as General Manager- Special Projects and Bank Economist at Equity Group Holdings PLC.
