NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Smart Megwai

MTN South Africa, in collaboration with Investec and Electrum, is set to launch PayShap on its Mobile Money (MoMo) platform. This move will make MTN MoMo the first non-banking service provider to offer PayShap, a real-time, low-fee interbank digital payment solution. The partnership represents a major breakthrough in expanding financial services to South Africa’s unbanked population.

PayShap, developed by BankservAfrica, the Payments Association of South Africa, and the South African Reserve Bank, aims to modernize South Africa’s payments landscape by reducing reliance on cash and promoting faster, safer, and more affordable transactions. The service has gained significant traction since its initial launch in 2023, surpassing one million transactions within six months.