The surge in mobile money-linked Visa and MasterCard virtual cards is reshaping e-commerce and remittances across the continent.
Africa’s long-standing reliance on bank-issued plastic cards is facing a serious shake-up. A wave of telco-driven virtual card innovations is rapidly transforming how millions across the continent pay for goods online and send remittances abroad, posing a direct challenge to traditional card networks.
Globally, the shift toward digital payments is accelerating. The 2025 Global E-commerce Payments & Fraud Report by Visa, Verifi, and the Merchant Risk Council, shows that plastic cards still lead in merchant acceptance at 80%, but digital wallets (73%) and mobile commerce payments (45%) are quickly catching up, highlighting the rising preference for flexible, digital-first options.
The momentum toward digital and mobile-first solutions is largely driven by convenience, cost-efficiency, and security. Virtual cards are instantly generated, easier to manage, and can be customized for corporate or individual spending needs. They also mitigate both plastic waste as well as the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing and distributing physical cards.
This global trend helps explain why African telcos like Safaricom, MTN, Airtel, and Ethio Telecom are investing heavily in virtual card solutions tied to mobile wallets, transforming traditional banking models.
In 2022, Safaricom launched the M-PESA GlobalPay Virtual VISA Card, linking it directly to any of its 34 million mobile money wallets. As of 2024, the telco had issued over 800,000 virtual cards from 1.4 million applications, enabling over KES 7 billion in global payments on platforms like Amazon, AliExpress, and Netflix. This has not only expanded cross-border transaction capabilities for ordinary Kenyans but also signalled a turning point for mobile money’s role in global commerce.
In 2024, Ethio Telecom collaborated with Visa to launch its Telebirr SuperApp digital wallet-based Virtual Visa Card for over 47.5 million users to enhance cheaper diaspora money transfer from over 190 countries, supporting Ethiopia’s Digital Transformation Agenda. That same year, MTN MoMo (Mobile Money) partnered with MasterCard to launch a prepaid virtual card, giving its 290 million subscribers, including 60 million active MoMo wallet users, access to over 100 million merchant acceptance points worldwide.
Similarly, Airtel Africa introduced the Airtel Money MasterCard in Zambia in 2021. This virtual card, linked to Airtel’s mobile wallets, gives more than 100 million users across 14 countries- including 3.5 million in Zambia, access to MasterCard’s global merchant network. Users can now make payments on platforms such as Netflix, Uber, Amazon, Google, AliExpress, and Alibaba.
The Future is Virtual
With card-not-present (CNP) transactions becoming the norm in digital commerce, virtual cards rely on secure technologies like 3D Secure, Payment Card Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) chip & PIN, multi-factor authentication (MFA) under the EU Revised Directive on Payment Services (PSD2). Top-tier card management systems (CMS) such as OpenWay, Fiserv, Paymentology, and Marqueta support the issuance and real-time management of these digital products.
Players like Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, and China Union Pay (CUP), which collectively dominate global card payments, are increasingly rethinking their models. Traditionally, these networks operated through partnerships with banks to issue physical debit, credit, and prepaid cards.
However, the pivot to virtual cards allows these networks to bypass banks and partner directly with telcos and fintechs, cutting out intermediaries and capturing digital-native users in emerging markets. While this innovation supports financial inclusion, it also threatens bank revenue streams from card fees and merchant service commissions (MSC).
The African fintech boom, backed by virtual cards and mobile money integration, is redefining the continent’s financial ecosystem, As telcos deepen their fintech offerings and consumer trust in digital wallet grows, bank-issued plastic cards may lose their long standing dominance, ushering in an era of both borderless and inclusive payments.
Nicasio Karani is a banking and macroeconomics specialist, currently serving as General Manager- Special Projects and Bank Economist at Equity Group Holdings PLC.
