Instant payment systems across Africa are rapidly transforming the continent’s financial landscape, with transactions valued at nearly $2 trillion in 2024. This shift underscores how affordable, real‑time digital payments are increasingly becoming a financial lifeline for individuals, businesses, and economies across the region.
Once confined to a small segment of banked urban users, instant payments have expanded dramatically thanks to lower transaction costs, widespread smartphone adoption, and innovations that allow mobile money wallets and banking platforms to operate in real time. Today, many Africans no longer need a traditional bank account to send or receive money instantly only a mobile phone and internet access are required.
The latest report from leading financial analysts shows that more than 64 billion instant payment transactions took place in 2024 across 36 live systems in 31 African countries, representing dramatic growth from an estimated $775.7 billion in transaction value in 2020.
These systems are designed as open‑loop retail payment platforms that operate around the clock and enable near‑real‑time transfers for low‑value transactions, supporting a wide range of use cases from person‑to‑person transfers to payments for goods and services. Many technologies now link mobile money providers, banks, and fintechs enhancing connectivity and choice for users continent‑wide.
Despite the impressive expansion, gaps remain: a significant share of the population still lacks access to formal financial services, and interoperability between systems especially for cross‑border payments continues to evolve. Policymakers and financial regulators are exploring ways to build on current infrastructure to make digital payments more inclusive, affordable, secure, and accessible to underserved groups, including women, youth, and rural communities.
As Africa’s instant payment ecosystem continues to grow, experts say it has the potential to deepen financial inclusion, stimulate trade, and support broader economic participation, illustrating a major shift toward a more connected and digitally enabled financial future for the continent.