Mastercard to Begin Rollout of Real-Time Card Payments in South Africa

Mastercard said South Africa will be its first market to benefit from real-time card payments.

The company will enable acquiring banks to process real-time card payments via Mastercard’s product innovations, enhancements to its network and strategic partnerships, according to a Tuesday (Oct. 8) press release. In the future, it will also enable issuing banks to process such payments.

Mastercard has made real-time card payments “a key global priority” and is exploring other regions in which to add this offering, according to the release.

“As consumer expectations and the needs of businesses change, we are ensuring payments meet the evolving speed of customers’ lives,” Gabriel Swanepoel, Southern Africa country manager at Mastercard, said in the release. “By enhancing processing standards and delivering faster clearing and settlement, we aim to support small businesses with better cash flow and enable acquirers to manage liquidity more effectively.”

As part of its efforts, Mastercard will introduce new standards and solutions that will accelerate the processing speed for card transactions, per the release. For example, the company’s introduction of real-time clearing and more frequent settlement cycles will enable same-day payouts for South African merchants.

Mastercard laid the groundwork for these changes in South Africa last year by enhancing its network and enabling transactions to be processed locally, according to the release.

The company has also partnered with global payments technology provider ACI Worldwide to help acquirers in the country adopt real-time transactions processing standards, per the release.

“This initiative will ultimately improve liquidity and enable faster access to funds, delivering more seamless payments experiences for local customers and businesses,” Bill Farris, head of issuing and acquiring at ACI Worldwide, said in the release.

Mastercard has been pursuing initiatives in Africa as part of a broader strategy to drive digital transformation in regions with high cash transaction rates, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said in July during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

During the call, Miebach pointed to Mastercard’s investments in partnerships with large telcos and mobile network operators, tripling acceptance locations in Africa over five years.

In September, Mastercard and Amazon teamed up to digitize payment acceptance in Africa and the Middle East. The partnership, which covers South Africa and several other countries, will see Amazon Payment Services adopt Mastercard Gateway as a payment solution in 40 markets in the region.