For today’s modern African, borders are becoming fluid. Whether it’s an artisan in Johannesburg shipping handcrafted goods to Nairobi, a digital creator receiving cross-border remittances, or a remote entrepreneur scaling across regional hubs, digital connectivity is changing how we live, work, and trade.
At the centre of this cultural and economic shift is Onafriq, Africa’s largest payments network, which has officially joined the Fintech Association of South Africa (FINASA) as an Enterprise Member. The partnership signals a major step forward in building a frictionless, interoperable financial infrastructure across the continent.
As intra-African commerce flourishes under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the demand for intuitive, instant money movement has never been more urgent. Operating as a true “network of networks”, Onafriq links over one billion mobile money wallets and 500 million bank accounts across more than 40 African markets – all accessible through a single integration.
With a strong footprint in Johannesburg and 16 payment licenses continent-wide, Onafriq’s entry into FINASA reinforces South Africa’s position as a vibrant gateway for continental financial innovation.
“South Africa is one of Africa’s most important financial markets and a gateway for regional commerce,” says Grace Anyetei, Regional General Manager, Southern and East Africa at Onafriq. “Joining FINASA enables us to collaborate more closely with regulators, fintech innovators, and ecosystem partners as we continue building payment infrastructure that makes moving money across Africa simpler, faster, and more inclusive.”
Designing the Future of African Digital Finance
Rather than treating payments as back-end logistics, the collaboration highlights money movement as a vital enabler of lifestyle, creative entrepreneurship, and financial freedom. Through FINASA, Onafriq will actively contribute to shaping policies and conversations around cross-border remittances, payment interoperability and digital economy modernisation which translate to lowering costs and increasing speed for family and business transfers, allowing mobile wallets, banks, and merchants to speak to one another effortlessly and creating pathways for small-to-medium lifestyle enterprises to participate in global-scale trade.
“As South Africa’s fintech ecosystem continues to mature, the ability to move money across borders quickly and affordably has become central to how our members build and grow,” notes Danielle Lawrence, COO of FINASA. “Onafriq has spent more than a decade building that connective layer across the continent…we are pleased to welcome them into the FINASA ecosystem.”
By bringing scale, regional experience, and regulatory expertise to the table, Onafriq and FINASA are setting the stage for a more connected, inclusive, and borderless digital finance landscape across Africa.
