Visa and Onafriq Expand Digital Wallet Capabilities in Democratic Republic of Congo

Visa and African digital payments network Onafriq partnered to launch the payments-as-a-service platform Visa Pay in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The partnership will give consumers in the DRC access to digital and eCommerce payments by enabling them to fund their Visa Pay wallets directly from mobile money channels, the companies said in a Thursday (Sept. 11) press release.

Visa Pay allows consumers to use their local digital wallets and account-to-account payment apps to make payments at any merchant around the world that accepts Visa, according to the company’s website.

Onafriq’s APIs will bridge Visa’s card network with millions of mobile money wallets across the DRC, including those from M-Pesa, Airtel Money and Orange Money, according to the Thursday press release.

The partnership also opens the door for Visa Pay to expand into other African markets, as Onafriq’s network spans 43 of those markets, per the release.

“This partnership demonstrates how combining Visa’s global network reach with Onafriq’s deep on-ground presence creates unprecedented possibilities for innovation and financial inclusion across Africa,” Onafriq Chief Commercial Officer Christian Bwakira said in the release.

Sophie Kafuti, general manager of Visa in the DRC, said in the release that the collaboration advances Visa’s mission to accelerate financial inclusion in the DRC.

“By connecting Visa Pay to existing mobile money infrastructure, we’re not just adding convenience—we’re creating the interoperability foundation that will fuel digital commerce adoption across the country,” Kafuti said.

Onafriq changed its name from MFS Africa in November 2023, saying the rebranding reflected its expansion from offering only mobile financial services to providing a true omnichannel platform across the continent.

In June, the company announced that as it reached its 15th anniversary, its digital payment network was connecting nearly 1 billion mobile money wallets and 500 million bank accounts.

“Fifteen years ago, we set out … to connect Africa’s mobile money systems and make borders matter less,” Onafriq founder and CEO Dare Okoudjou said at the time in a press release. “What we’ve built since then is more than a network—it’s a pan-African infrastructure layer that has evolved in lockstep with the continent’s digital evolution.”