From Moving Money to Orchestrating Scale

The broader payments industry is currently trapped in what I call the “race to zero.” Competitors are slashing transaction fees in a desperate bid to win market share, treating payment processing as a basic utility, much like electricity or water. At Peach Payments, we believe that while payments is utility at the pure processing level – there is an inherent complexity and opportunity to differentiate at the layers above, especially with the integration of a robust payment gateway.

Utilising a payment gateway can streamline this process, allowing businesses to focus on growth and customer satisfaction while reducing operational complexities.

As an enterprise client this can mean accessing new customers, new countries and more importantly improving conversion rates which will more than compensate for any short term gain from a cheaper basic processing solution. This realisation has driven our strategic pivot from being a company that simply “moves money” to one that “orchestrates scale”.

We have introduced an updated Payment Orchestration Layer, which serves as the central nervous system for an enterprise’s financial operations. Rather than a linear path from merchant to bank, orchestration allows for:

1. Rule-Based Routing: The system can automatically decide, in milliseconds, which bank or processor is most likely to approve a specific transaction at the lowest possible cost i.e. balancing the trade-off between conversion and cost.
   
2. Failover Redundancy: In the African context, “uptime” is a relative term. Banks go down, and telecommunications links fail. Our orchestration engine provides instant redundancy. If one provider fails, the traffic is immediately re-routed to a secondary or tertiary provider. The merchant stays live, the customer remains happy, and the revenue is secured.

This leads to our “Open Kitchen” philosophy. Most payment providers treat their internal processes as a black box. You put a transaction in, and hopefully, money comes out the other side. We take the opposite approach. We want our enterprise partners to see the “messy innards” of  tax laws, fraud vectors, and local regulatory requirements. By providing this level of transparency and visibility, we prove our value as an architect. We handle the complexity so that the merchant can focus on their core ambition: growth.

Building Resilient Code: Security, AI, and Network Tokenisation

As we look toward 2026, the definition of “resilience” in fintech is evolving. It is no longer enough to be secure; you must be proactive.

One of our most significant technical levers is Network Tokenisation. At the core of this is a unified token strategy, where Peach Payments provides merchants with a single, PCI-compliant token that represents a customer’s payment credentials. This token can be safely stored and reused across channels (web, mobile, recurring billing), which removes the need for merchants to handle sensitive card data directly and significantly reduces PCI scope.

More importantly, it solves the problem of “involuntary churn”. For subscription-based businesses, like the home cleaning or meal kit services we partner with, an expired credit card usually means a lost customer. With network tokenisation and built-in lifecycle management, the token remains valid even if the physical card is replaced, ensuring the billing cycle remains uninterrupted.

Regarding the opportunities of Artificial Intelligence, my perspective is built-on 2 pillars – consumer behavior and risk management. There is no doubt that consumer behavior is evolving and that AI will fundamentally affect digital commerce. On the risk front, we believe AI governance belongs in the CISO’s (Chief Information Security Officer) office. We don’t use AI just to generate marketing copy. We use it for proactive threat modeling. In a continent where fraud patterns can shift overnight, AI allows us to identify and neutralise sophisticated fraud vectors before they impact our merchants’ bottom lines.

Furthermore, a system is only as strong as its weakest link. That’s why real-time payouts with bank verification is a gamechanger. The goal is to ensure that every pay-out is verified before a single cent moves. By confirming account ownership and details in real-time, we eliminate the administrative nightmare of failed disbursements and the catastrophic risk of man-in-the-middle fraud.

Conclusion: Complexity. Solved.

At the end of the day, our brand promise is captured in two words: Complexity. Solved. To be clear, “Solved” does not mean the complexity of the African market has been eliminated. The capital controls are still there, the currencies are still volatile, and the regulations are still fragmented. What “Solved” means is that this complexity has been engineered, contained, and stress-tested by an architect.

We provide our partners with what we call “earned calm”. It is the peace of mind that comes from knowing your payment infrastructure is as ambitious as your business plan. For the enterprise leader, the message is simple: Stop looking for a tool that promises to make Africa look easy. Start looking for an architect who knows exactly why it is hard—and has built a system to thrive in it anyway.

First published in the Business Day Payments, May 2026.

The Gap Between Narrative and Infrastructure

For more than a decade, the global financial community has been captivated by the “Africa Rising” narrative. It is a story told in broad, optimistic strokes: a continent of 1.4 billion people, the youngest median age on the planet, and a digital-first population that famously leapfrogged the desktop era straight into the mobile age.

From a high-level perspective, the trajectory looks like a straight line toward prosperity.

However, as any enterprise leader operating within the African landscape will tell you, the view from the boardroom is often much more granular and far more complex. There is a profound gap between the optimistic narrative of a unified digital market and the technical, fragmented reality of moving money across borders. In Africa, payments are not just another feature of commerce; they are the primary friction point.

Moving value from Point A to Point B within a country and more so across the continent is fundamentally hard. It is not merely a challenge of writing efficient code or building sleek user interfaces. It is a grueling exercise in navigating varied capital controls, managing the volatility of dozens of different currencies, and coordinating with a patchwork of disparate banking partners, each with their own legacy systems and regulatory hurdles.

At Peach Payments, our thesis is simple: Success for the modern enterprise does not come from a “simple plug-and-play” solution. In a market this fragmented, simplicity is often a mask for fragility. True scale requires a robust architecture, a system designed not only to process transactions, but also to withstand the structural chaos of a continent in flux.

The Fragmentation of Value: Processing $6 Billion in a Regional Mosaic

To understand the scale of the challenge is to understand the sheer volume of value currently being orchestrated behind the scenes. Peach Payments annually processes over  USD $6 Billion. This isn’t just a vanity metric; it represents the lifeblood of thousands of enterprises, from global airlines and insurance giants to domestic retail powerhouses.

Our infrastructure is currently live with over 50 stores of value, such as card acquirers, mobile money wallets, buy now pay later services and more,  across the continent. This is  a technical feat that has allowed us to transition from a South African stalwart to a truly pan-African leader. Our footprint now covers the strategic hubs of South Africa, Kenya, and Mauritius, and has recently expanded into the high-growth markets of West Africa.

The acquisition of the West-African payment platform PayDunya was a pivotal moment in this journey. It wasn’t just about adding dots to a map; it was about gaining entry into the UEMOA Francophone zone,  specifically Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Mali.

This region represents a massive, underserved economic block that operates under a different regulatory and cultural logic than the Anglophone markets of the south and east.

When you look at this regional mosaic, the fragmentation becomes visible. In South Africa, the payment landscape is relatively mature, with card transactions (credit and debit) still dominating approximately 70% of the online market.

However, as you move north, the picture shifts dramatically. In Kenya and across West Africa, “the card” is often the alternative, not the norm. Here, value is stored and moved through a dizzying array of Alternative Payment Methods (APMs)—digital wallets, vouchers, and mobile money systems like M-Pesa or Orange Money.

Enterprises attempting to scale across these borders cannot simply export their South African payment strategy. They need a partner who understands that in Nairobi, “cash is king” has been replaced by “mobile money is king maker”.

First published in the Business Day Payments, May 2026. Read part 2 here.

The R130 Billion Milestone

South Africa’s online retail landscape is no longer an “emerging” market; it is a mature powerhouse. According to the latest findings of the 2025 Online Retail in South Africa report, the sector is set to surpass R130 Billion this year. This represents nearly 10% of total retail, a structural realignment of the national economy.

Biometrics and the 20% Boost

Despite this growth, many retailers are still leaving money on the table. Our research shows that 39% of consumers now cite digital wallets as their preferred and fastest payment option. However, adoption among retailers has lagged behind consumer demand. At Peach Payments, we’ve seen that merchants who implement Apple Pay experience a 20% higher conversion rate. The reason is simple: biometric security (FaceID/TouchID) removes the moment of hesitation at checkout. By eliminating the need to manually enter card details, we turn browsers into buyers in seconds.

The Rise of Enterprise Omnichannel

The future of retail is not just “online”—it is omnichannel. We have launched enterprise-grade Point-of-Sale (POS) devices that finally bridge the gap between the web store and the physical storefront. For the first time, a retailer can see a single, unified view of their transactions, inventory, and settlements in a single dashboard, irrespective of whether consumers have bought online or offline. Even loyalty rewards are as simple as tapping your card without the need for separate QR codes, apps or hardware.

Case Study: The Digicape Standard

Look at Digicape, South Africa’s leading independent Apple reseller. By partnering with Peach Payments, they consolidated their entire payment ecosystem, which previously involved ten different providers, into a single integration. The result? They were able to scale their operations to handle 5x year-on-year growth during the high-pressure Black Friday period. With Peach Payments, they achieved a “single source of truth” for their financial data, proving that when you solve the complexity of the backend, the frontend takes care of itself.

Look at Digicape, South Africa’s leading independent Apple reseller. By partnering with Peach Payments, they consolidated their entire payment ecosystem, which previously involved ten different providers, into a single integration. The result? They were able to scale their operations to handle 5x year-on-year growth during the high-pressure Black Friday period. With Peach Payments, they achieved a “single source of truth” for their financial data, proving that when you solve the complexity of the backend, the frontend takes care of itself.

Peach Payments fast fact:

Over the 2025 Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, Peach Payments processed more than 2,69 million transactions, to a total value of more than R1,86bn

Download the 2025 Online Retail Report for key findings, insights and important actions to scale your growth.

The travel and hospitality sector is arguably the most complex payment environment on the continent. The opportunity is undeniable: South Africa enjoyed a 19% increase in inbound tourism arrivals in 2025. Concurrently, a new demographic of younger, domestic travelers is emerging, driven by social media inspiration and a desire for experiential travel. Understanding the nuances of hotel payments is crucial for businesses in this sector.

The Complexity of Travel Payments

Capturing this booming market requires more than a simple checkout page; it requires speaking the financial language of the traveler. A recent study by Phocuswright, sponsored by Peach Payments and PayJustNow, points out key trends the modern traveler expects from businesses. 

• Winning the battle at Checkout: For 40% of the South African population, inspiration happens on social media, but the actual purchase is secured on the web. Adding diverse payment options directly improves conversion rates.
• Digital Wallets: Digital wallets are rapidly becoming the preferred choice for South Africans, with nearly 4 in 10 (39%) citing them as the fastest payment option.
• The BNPL Dilemma: The global BNPL market was forecast to reach $560 billion in 2025, reflecting 13.7% year-over-year growth. In South Africa, the BNPL sector is projected to be worth $913.6 million by 2033.
• Cart Abandonment: Cumbersome 3D Secure verification processes and technical failures remain a leading cause of drop-offs in the South African market.

Orchestration as the Ultimate Solution

Adding payment methods is easy but reconciling them is the true enterprise challenge. When a travel brand uses multiple Payment Service Providers (PSPs), managing refunds and matching net settlement values against specific passenger records becomes an administrative nightmare.

As industry leaders have noted, resolving this requires a single orchestration platform. It is a unified system that talks to multiple backend PSPs through one user interface.

This is where Peach Payments acts as the architect. By integrating directly into enterprise hospitality booking and airline systems, we consolidate the chaos. We navigate the high-friction risk models of BNPL, streamline 3D Secure routing, and enable targeted innovations like national payment systems to seamlessly capture the influx of international tourists.

By abstracting the complexity of multi-currency settlements and automated reconciliation, we ensure that travel brands can focus entirely on the guest experience.

Published in the Business Day, Payments, March 2026

Download The Future of Travel Research findings to unlock more key findings.

“Hotels are under pressure to deliver seamless guest experiences across the reception desk, in-house restaurant and local spa, but also have to tighten operational control and reduce fraud exposure.”

says Anine de Kock, Head of Partnerships at leading African

Efficient hotel payments can significantly enhance the overall experience for both guests and staff. “Many hospitality payment environments were not designed to operate as a unified system, however, and the hospitality industry is at varying stages on the digital transformation journey. Integrating effective hotel payments is a crucial. step in the process.

Here, De Kock shares five of the biggest payment pain points the hospitality industry faces and what can be done about them.

1. Fragmented systems and operational bottlenecks

Many hotels still rely on payment systems that require front desk staff to manually capture information and switch between multiple platforms during busy check-in and checkout periods.

This results in longer queues, frustrated guests and increased pressure on staff. For hotel groups with multiple properties, the situation is exacerbated by limited payment visibility across locations. The admin pressure on head office finance staff becomes a major operational bottleneck.

“Integrated payment infrastructure with real-time transaction flows, automated reconciliation and centralised reporting across the entire operation solves this problem,”

suggests Anine de Kock

2. Manual reconciliations

Reconciliation remains one of the hospitality industry’s biggest administrative headaches.

“In larger hotel groups, the process can become so resource-intensive that dedicated staff are needed purely to investigate and match payments. This slows financial reporting and limits real-time visibility,”

De Kock continues.

She adds that automated reconciliation that integrates directly into hotels’ payment and property management systems is one way hotel groups are managing this challenge.

“Real-time transaction matching, faster reporting and improved operational efficiency are a game-changer we’re seeing the hospitality industry embrace.”

3. Slow, risky refund process

Refunds remain a major pain point for establishments. Larger amounts often require additional approval and processes may still rely on paper forms that contain sensitive card details. This approach increases delays and risk for both the hotel and the guest. Delayed refunds also directly affect guest confidence and loyalty, she notes.

“A more effective approach, is a secure, tokenised payment environment that makes controlled digital refunds possible. Ideally, it should be supported by role-based permissions, audit trails and automated refund controls.”

says Anine de Kock

4. Compliance and fraud risks

Payment processes that involve printed slips, handwritten card details, and unsecured customer data storage increase a hotel’s compliance risks, fraud exposure and chargebacks.

PCI-compliant payment environments help reduce these risks, De Kock comments. They ensure sensitive card data is never exposed or stored in plain text. These environments deliver digital audit trails and role-based access controls that simplify compliance and dispute resolution.

“Across the globe, payment security has moved from being an IT-only issue to being a brand trust issue. Consumers want reassurance that their payment details are safe and that businesses comply with the latest international standards like the PCI Data Security Standard,”

says Anine de Kock

5. Delayed settlements and tight cashflows

“Cashflow visibility is critical, yet many payment environments still involve settlement delays and slow release cycles that create uncertainty around fund availability. This limits operational agility,” De Kock says.

She emphasises that it is vital to have real-time visibility into payments and settlements across all properties and channels.

“Payment systems should give hotels direct settlements, to improve cashflow, but also to reduce manual oversight and make it easier to predict future cashflows. This is why payment infrastructure has become a strategic operational layer rather than simply a back-office function,”

De Kock says.

“The hospitality industry is moving toward a far more connected operational model. The properties that digitise their payment infrastructure now will be better positioned to improve guest experiences, strengthen financial controls and scale more efficiently in the future,” she concludes.

Then they lose them at checkout.

According to the 2025 World Wide Worx Online Retail Report, checkout friction is now the leading cause of cart abandonment, cited by 37% of retailers.

For years, businesses focused on driving more traffic. Today, the bigger opportunity is converting the traffic they already have.

The question is simple:

How quickly can a customer go from “I want this” to “I’ve bought it”?

Why checkout friction matters

The traditional online checkout journey hasn’t changed much in years:

Product → Cart → Checkout → Enter Details → Payment

The problem is that every additional step creates another opportunity for customers to leave.

A distraction. A slow page load. A lengthy form. A second thought.

Modern consumers are used to ordering food, booking transport and subscribing to services with a few taps. E-commerce is increasingly being measured against those experiences.

The fastest buying journeys often generate the highest conversion rates.

Mobile changed customer expectations

Checkout friction becomes even more noticeable on mobile.

Typing card details and billing information on a smartphone is time-consuming, especially when customers are browsing on social media, watching TV or multitasking.

The longer the checkout process, the greater the chance they’ll abandon it.

Why wallets are becoming the preferred way to pay

Digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay remove unnecessary effort from the checkout experience.

Instead of manually entering payment details, customers can pay using credentials already stored on their device and authenticate with Face ID, a fingerprint or a passcode.

The result is a faster, more trusted payment experience that benefits both shoppers and merchants.

Benefits include:

• Faster checkout experiences
• Better mobile conversion
• Stronger customer trust
• Fewer abandoned purchases

The next evolution: Embedded Express

If wallets reduce friction, Peach Payments’ Embedded Express removes even more of it.

Rather than sending customers through a traditional cart and checkout flow, Embedded Express allows them to purchase directly from the product page using their preferred wallet.

The journey changes from:

Product → Cart → Checkout → Payment

to simply:

Product → Buy Now

It may seem like a small change, but removing clicks can have a significant impact on conversion.

Why Embedded Express works

Captures intent immediately

The moment a customer decides they want a product is the moment they’re most likely to buy it. Embedded Express shortens the gap between intent and payment.

Reduces cart abandonment

Long forms, account creation and multiple checkout steps are common reasons customers leave before completing a purchase. Embedded Express removes much of that friction.

Improves mobile conversion

Wallet-powered checkout allows customers to authenticate with a face scan or fingerprint and complete purchases in seconds.

Builds trust

Customers often feel more comfortable paying through Apple Pay or Google Pay than entering card details into an unfamiliar website.

Increases the value of every click

Whether traffic comes from Google, Instagram, TikTok or email campaigns, Embedded Express creates the shortest possible path between product discovery and payment.

Where Embedded Express delivers the biggest impact

Flash sales and limited drops

When inventory is limited, speed matters.

Social commerce

Customers arriving from Instagram or TikTok want to buy quickly, not navigate a lengthy checkout process.

Single-item purchases

If customers typically buy one product at a time, a multi-step cart journey often creates unnecessary friction.

Digital products and subscriptions

Online courses, memberships, software and digital content are ideal candidates for one-click purchasing.

The best checkout is the one customers barely notice

As ecommerce continues to grow, merchants will keep investing in traffic acquisition and customer acquisition.

But many of the biggest conversion gains won’t come from attracting more visitors.

They’ll come from making it easier for existing visitors to buy.

Customers don’t usually abandon purchases because they don’t want the product.

They abandon purchases because buying it became harder than it needed to be.

Wallets and Embedded Express are helping merchants solve exactly that problem.

To learn more about Embedded Express, view our Developer notes.

PayJustNow is now available on the Peach Payments Digit Pro and Go POS devices

“The solution announced today offers easy PayJustNow integration into existing Peach Payments POS terminals for merchants,”

says Anine de Kock, Head of Partnerships at leading African payment service provider Peach Payments,

This is especially important when consumers want cashflow-friendly payment options to secure their purchases across industries, particularly retail.

Says Daniel Hawkins, Executive Head of Marketing at PayJustNow, South Africa’s fastest-growing flexible payment provider: “This single integration offers both a BNPL and a credit product. For merchants, this removes the need for static, printed QR codes, giving them frictionless access to PayJustNow’s base of over four million consumers.”

Flexible payments just got easier in-store

Sales amounts are captured directly at the till, not manually by the customer, leaving less room for error for merchants. The solution includes advanced credit scoring and fraud prevention, as well as a single reconciliation across multiple transactions. It also reduces countertop clutter for merchants, who no longer have to display a static QR code to be scanned alongside a separate POS device.

Aimed at medium to large enterprise merchants, the solution has been piloted since early 2026 with five merchants. It is now being rolled out to the existing merchant base of both companies.

In addition to BNPL options, the Digit Pro offers customised checkout flows, with apps that handle anything from stock control to loyalty and rewards. 

To learn more about PayJustNow, visit this page.<\/p>]]> https://www.peachpayments.com/scale/apple-pay-mauritius/ Tue, 19 May 2026 09:59:12 +0000 https://www.peachpayments.com/?p=20869 African payment service provider Peach Payments today brings its merchants in Mauritius Apple Pay, a safer, more secure and private way to pay that helps customers avoid handing their payment card to someone else, touching physical buttons or exchanging cash, and uses the power of iPhone to protect every transaction.

Every Apple Pay purchase is secure because it is authenticated with Face ID, Touch ID, or device passcode, as well as a one-time unique dynamic security code. Apple Pay is accepted in grocery stores, pharmacies, taxis, restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, and many more places.

Driving digital commerce in Africa

“Our merchants will be able to offer their customers a safer, more convenient and private way to pay,”

says Rahul Jain, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Peach Payments.

“In 2021, Peach Payments was the first payment service provider to offer Apple Pay in South Africa, and we are pleased to play a part in its launch in Mauritius,” says Jain.

Mauritius continues to position itself as a forward-looking digital and financial hub, with strong banking infrastructure and growing consumer adoption of digital commerce. Apple Pay is another important step in delivering faster, more secure, and globally trusted payment experiences for merchants and consumers in the market.

“Across Africa, consumers are increasingly mobile-first and merchants are looking for seamless checkout experiences that improve trust and conversion. As smartphone and premium device adoption continues to grow, digital wallets like Apple Pay will play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of commerce across the continent.”

says Sandeep Chagger, Group Chief Operating Officer at Peach Payments

Seamless purchases across devices

Customers can also use Apple Pay on iPhone, iPad, and Mac to make faster and more convenient purchases in apps or on the web in Safari without having to create accounts or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information. Apple Pay makes it easier to pay for food and grocery deliveries, online shopping, transportation, and parking, as well as hospitality bookings, spa treatments and holiday excursions, among other things. Apple Pay can also be used to make payments in apps on Apple Watch.

Uncompromising security and privacy

Security and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay. When customers use a credit or debit card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted, and securely stored in the Secure Element, an industry-standard, certified chip designed to store the payment information safely on the device.

How to get started with Apple Pay

Apple Pay is easy for consumers to set up. On iPhone, simply open the Wallet app, tap +, and follow the steps to add your credit or debit cards. Once a customer adds a card to iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac, they can start using Apple Pay on that device right away through Peach Payments’ gateway. Customers will continue to receive all of the rewards and benefits offered by their bank cards.

For more information on Apple Pay, visit: http://www.apple.com/apple-pay/. Mauritian merchants can sign up to Apple Pay through their existing Peach Payments dashboard or their local Peach Payments support team. Additional information for merchants is available here.

• Capture bookings with flexible payment options
• Power online or in-person payment experiences
• Connect seamlessly with leading travel and hospitality systems

Payments that move as fast as your guests do

Put your payments on autopilot and leave the complexity behind.
Because in travel, every moment matters.

Turn every travel moment into a seamless travel experience

From international travellers to local guests, give your customers the freedom to pay their way.

Alternative Payment Methods

Offer Apple Pay, PayJustNow, UPI, Crypto and more to meet every guest’s needs.

Easy Integration

Plug into our Property Management Systems for a connected payments experience

Payment Links

Generate single-use links with set expiry times for time-sensitive bookings

Real-time Payouts

Automate real-time clearance payouts to hotels, airlines, and car rentals on your platform.

Virtual Card Payments

Easily accept Booking.com virtual card payments securely.

Online or In-Person

Manage room service bookings online and in-person experiences with powerful point-of-sale solutions

How travel brands stay ahead in a rapidly changing payment landscape

Travel demand is rising, expectations are shifting, and payments are where conversion is won or lost. Read the Research

Digital wallets deliver speed

Apple Pay and Google Pay removes friction at the point of purchase.

Africa is riding the BNPL wave

The African appetite for buy now, pay later (BNPL) is accelerating rapidly.

A single orchestration platform

Merchants are driving conversions with Payments Orchestration and real-time reporting.

Integrate with one of our hospitality partners

Ready to remove the complexity from travel payments?

Fill in your details and our team of payments experts will get in touch and walk you through getting set up with Peach Payments.

This is one of the findings of The future of travel in South Africa: How travellers discover, book and pay, commissioned by leading African payment service provider Peach Payments and South Africa’s fastest-growing flexible payment provider PayJustNow. Conducted by Phocuswright, the research involved one-on-one interviews with key executives in the travel and tourism sector about the use of online payment technologies by South African consumers.

Digital wallets drive rapid checkouts

Digital wallets are rapidly becoming the preferred choice for South Africans, with nearly 4 in 10 (39%) citing them as the fastest payment option in research by Visa. Flight booking company Travelwings, for instance, found that adding Apple Pay and Google Pay led to a “sudden uptick in transactions”, highlighting that removing friction at the point of purchase is key to driving conversion.

“The rapidly expanding Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) sector is increasingly playing the same role,”

says Daniel Hawkins, Executive Head of Marketing at PayJustNow

Another finding is that industry leaders like Travelstart increased their BNPL share from 3% to 6% in just one year.

“BNPL is playing a critical role in boosting loyalty and expanding access to more travellers who want cashflow-friendly payment options to secure their purchase,”

says Daniel Hawkins

BNPL boosts loyalty and expands access

Other industry experts polled in the research note that mobile money is essential because it allows customers to interact online rather than travelling long distances to physical shops to pay. Africa is the global epicentre for mobile money, accounting for 74% of all mobile money transactions worldwide. Market leaders like M-Pesa now have over 40 million users in Kenya alone, providing a vital bridge for consumers who prefer digital balances over physical cash.

“As travel demand evolves in South Africa, payments will be a key area of focus for companies looking to improve conversion and better serve customer needs. Success will depend less on any single payment method and more on reducing friction across the booking process,”

says Mitra Sorrells, SVP content at Phocuswright

Mobile money bridges the gap for digital balances

Adding diverse payment options may attract more consumers, but it presents challenges for merchants. Travel finance teams describe managing multiple payment providers as a “nightmare” that often requires excessive headcount to manage. Disparate data formats and varying commission rates make automated reconciliation nearly impossible for scaling businesses. The research identified that merchants solve this through sophisticated payment orchestration and recon APIs from payment service providers.

“These solutions talk to multiple backend providers to ensure the settlement process is seamless,”

says Peach Payments CEO Rahul Jain.

Solving the merchant ‘nightmare’ of multiple integrations

Digital wallets pose a different challenge – travel providers say international settlements for these wallets can lead to costly exchange rate conversions for the buyer. 

Another challenge for international transactions is that many fail in South Africa due to 3D Secure (3DS) technicalities. This may force consumers to attempt payments multiple times, increasing frustration. Researchers suggest that merchants look for PSPs that manage real-time risk checking, are PCI DSS Level 1 certified and optimise for African banking rails to ensure high authorisation rates and local settlement.

The full research findings are being made available to the travel industry to assist merchants in optimising their websites, Jain says. The full research report is also available for download at here.

About Phocuswright

Phocuswright is the travel industry research authority on how travellers, suppliers, and intermediaries connect. For over two decades, the company has delivered independent, objective research and data to the global travel, tourism, and hospitality industry. Phocuswright provides actionable insights to travel executives through syndicated research, custom research, and highly targeted industry events. To foster a global community, Phocuswright also produces several high-profile conferences connecting innovators, executives, and investors. Phocuswright is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northstar Travel Group. For more information, visit www.phocuswright.com.

About PayJustNow

PayJustNow is an innovative payment platform, offering flexible retail payment options that serve an audience of over 3.5 million customers and 3,000 directly integrated merchants. The platform is changing the face of South Africa’s retail landscape, delivering convenience and accessibility to the consumer, while driving retail sales and improving customer retention for the merchant. The company has an 80% repeat customer rate and is signing on 100,000 new customers a month. PayJustNow is backed by fintech giant Weaver Fintech, and incorporated into its ecosystem of digital financial services, embedded finance, and payments. For more information visit www.payjustnow.com.