The African continent continues to witness a rapid transition from cash-based economies to digitally enabled financial ecosystems. Despite historically high levels of unbanked populations across the region, with almost 350mil people being financially excluded, countries such as Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania, and Guinea, the last two years have shown a marked improvement in financial inclusion. Mobile payments and e-wallets solutions, agent banking, and digital payment platforms have enabled unprecedented growth in access to formal financial services. For instance, in Kenya, over 84% of adults now have access to at least one form of mobile financial service, while Senegal’s mobile banking accounts reached nearly 12 million by mid-2024, covering over 80% of its adult population. Meanwhile, in Tanzania, over 80% of the adult population engages in mobile money services as of 2024 according to Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority. Progress is evident. Somalia has seen digital payments usage climb with over 160mln people are enjoying the mobile payments service. Such trends are mirrored regionwide, underlining findings from the World Bank that Africa hosts half of the nearly 700 million digital financial services users worldwide.
Recognizing the potential of digitalization, African authorities in different countries are progressively supporting this shift through policy frameworks and regulatory reforms. Countries like Rwanda have established “Rwanda’s Vision 2050” to put the country on the path of digital transformation. In Burundi, the Banque de la République du Burundi (BRB) introduced updated regulations governing electronic payment service providers, often referred to as the “Règlement sur les Prestataires de Services de Paiement Electronique” enacted in late 2022 to set framework on standards for interoperability, dispute resolution mechanisms, electronic funds transfers, mobile payment financial services. In Kenya and Tanzania, the progressive regulations have fostered a competitive market environment, incentivizing new entrants and innovative platforms. Similarly, in Senegal and Mali, country-wide initiatives are reshaping the delivery of digital payments and social transfers through enhanced digital payment platforms. Senegal is part of the GIM UEMOA project, a regional electronic switching platform, powered by BPC, designed to connect eight West African countries. By linking over 160 banks across the region, GIM UEMOA has introduced secure and interoperable digital channels—such as mobile and digital banking, as well as agent banking networks—that facilitate seamless transactions, ultimately allowing greater financial inclusion. In Mali, the World Bank-supported “Jigisémèjiri” program highlights how digitalizing social transfers can significantly improve efficiency and impact. Once solely reliant on cash, these periodic transfers to vulnerable households are delivered through mobile wallets and cards. The payments digitalisation reduces the potential for fraud, lowers operational costs for the financial institutions, and accelerates the social support, ensuring that critical financial assistance directly reaches intended beneficiaries.
The effectiveness of World Bank-supported projects is evident across the continent. Implementations often encompass the deployment of next-generation payment solutions, enhancing agent networks, and improving user interfaces to elevate customer overall digital and payment experiences. According to BPC, a global payment solutions provider working closely with the World Bank on several projects, these efforts have fueled developing digital payments ecosystems in various African countries. “BPC’s collaboration with the World Bank in various African markets has allowed us to share our international expertise and our SmartVista technology with those markets, helping governments to offer digital payments options instead of cash to the population, while ultimately reducing financial institutions transactional and operational costs, improving systems’ resilience, and pushing financial inclusion,” says Angelo Bertini, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at BPC. “We share World Bank’s vision and on the path to make efficient, secure, and affordable digital financial services universally accessible, thus supporting sustainable economic growth on the continent.”
Diving deeper into specific national scenarios reveals how these initiatives manifest in real-world impact. Markets historically burdened with low financial penetration, for example such as Somalia, Guinea, and the DRC, have seen improvements in cashless transaction volumes. For instance, just from 2021 to 2024, Somalia’s digital transaction volumes within its National Payment System has grown by 37%.
With BPC support the Central Bank of Somalia has made a noteworthy stride towards advancing digital payments in the country and promoting financial inclusion. “Leveraging our next-generation platform, the Central Bank of Somalia was able to introduce Instant Payments functionality and the Unified National QR code, known as SOMQR.”, – Angelo Bertini commented. Based on international EMV standard, SOMQR provides a standardized framework guiding payment service providers when issuing QR codes to merchants and consumers. “The framework aims to drive interoperability and interbank transfers among thirteen commercial banks in the country, and integrated with existing national payment systems, such as RTGS and ACH. As of now seven banks are already on their way to integrate and enjoy Instant Payments and SOMQR”, – Angelo Bertini added. By minimizing manual data entry and simplifying transaction flows, SOMQR significantly enhances payments efficiency and allow to push financial inclusion agenda in a mobile-driven economy.
As stated by Central Bank of Somalia, “The Central Bank of Somalia remains committed to fostering a thriving financial sector that embraces technological and promotes financial inclusivity. The introduction of the SOMQR marks a significant milestone in the country’s digitalization process and underscores the CBS’s dedication to facilitating secure and efficient financial infrastructure for the support of economic growth.”
BPC’s project was implemented fully in cloud only highlights the progress. “By implementing the solution fully in the cloud in line with Central Bank’s initiative to build a modern Switch 2.0, we helped them to move from a basic card transaction switch to a comprehensive national-level payments infrastructure, and enabled Central Bank to utilize Instant Payments functionality not just for P2P payments and transfers, but also for government payments such as fare collection, social disbursements, taxes or fees.” explains Angelo Bertini. “With our state-of-the-art technology chosen over all other suppliers, we offered unmatched transparency of the project delivery, scalability and reliability.”
Looking ahead, the African continent holds strong promise for continued financial innovation and inclusion. As digital ecosystems mature and infrastructure improves, more communities will gain access to seamless, affordable, and secure financial services. The strategic involvement of institutions like the World Bank, combined with payment technology partners such as BPC, will continue to drive beneficial changes. “Africa’s potential for digital financial services growth is immense,” added Angelo Bertini, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at BPC, – “BPC is honored to be at the forefront, helping to drive progress and providing our clients and entire markets with the future proven solutions powered by SmartVista platform, to deliver exceptional payment experiences and ensure that every African consumer can benefit from the latest innovations and financial tools the world has to offer.”