South Africa is poised to be the first country to benefit from Mastercard’s initiative to introduce real-time card payments.
The company is launching new “standards and solutions” aimed at enhancing the speed of card transaction processing. ACI Worldwide will support acquirers in adopting these real-time transaction processing standards.
As a result, merchants in South Africa will experience quicker payouts, enabling improved cash flow management and quicker access to funds. Mastercard asserts that this advancement will enhance visibility and control over finances for businesses, release capital, and increase the velocity of money circulating within the economy.
Looking ahead, Mastercard plans to empower issuing banks in South Africa—and globally—to handle real-time card payments. This development will provide consumers with greater transparency, faster payments, and real-time insights into their financial status.
Gabriel Swanepoel, Mastercard’s Southern Africa country manager, expressed enthusiasm about the initiative, highlighting the significant progress it represents in modernizing payments in South Africa. “As consumer expectations and the needs of businesses evolve, we are committed to ensuring that payment solutions keep pace with the changing dynamics of our customers’ lives,” he stated.
In alignment with this, the South African Reserve Bank is developing a National Payments System Strategy Vision 2025, with a focus on promoting financial inclusion through digitization. Last year, the country launched Payshap, a low-value, interbank, real-time digital payments service.