For ride-hailing companies, going cashless in emerging markets is rarely straightforward. South Africa’s ride-hailing market is projected to nearly triple by 2033, making it one of the fastest-growing mobility markets, and one where the shift to digital payments is well underway.

Cards account for 63% of all digital transactions, eWallets keep gaining ground, and cash is steadily losing share.

But serving both sides of a marketplace means splitting each fare between the driver and the platform in real time, paying drivers out through rails they actually use, and doing all of it through a single local integration.

This partnership makes it possible. Through dLocal’s infrastructure, inDrive can now accept local cards in-app, including real-time payouts via PayShap, split transactions automatically between the driver’s share and the platform fee, and pay out driver earnings through South African domestic rails.

Reducing reliance on cash also lowers exposure to fraud and improves security for drivers on the road.

Cash remains available as a payment method where it’s still the preferred option, making this an expansion of choice, not a replacement.

South Africa is the first market where companies have run this model end-to-end. dLocal’s coverage of local payment methods across 44+ markets, including local cards, mobile money, bank transfers, RTPs, and eWallets, means the same model can follow into additional markets across Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, through a single connection already in place.

“South Africa is a key market for inDrive, and getting payments right here matters, not only for the passengers who want a convenient cashless experience but also for the drivers who depend on fast, reliable payouts,” said Ashif Black, Country Representative in South Africa at inDrive. “dLocal gives us the ability to do both, in one integration, in a market where that combination wasn’t available before.”

“Making payments work in emerging markets takes more than a technical integration. It takes local infrastructure, local relationships, and an understanding of how money actually moves in each market,” said Barrie Swart, Country Manager (South Africa) at dLocal. “This partnership in South Africa is a strong example of what becomes possible when all of that is in place.”

A payment gateway enables businesses, governments, NGOs, charities, and others to receive payments from their websites or other digital touchpoints through cards, transfers, USSD, wallets, etc, for themselves or on behalf of their customers.

While there are a number of payment gateway providers in Nigeria, the 10 prominent players are listed below:

1. Remita
2. Paystack
3. Flutterwave
4. Interswitch
5. Seerbit
6. Fincra
7. Kora
8. Moniepoint
9. eTranzact
10. HabariPay

1. Remita

Launched in 2005, the Remita payment gateway is offered by Remita Payment Services Limited, a subsidiary of SystemSpecs. It is robust and resilient and is in use by many SMEs, corporates, religious institutions, NGOs, governments, fintechs, etc.

Selected by the Central Bank of Nigeria, it serves as the payment gateway for the National Treasury Single Account (TSA) initiative, processing millions of local and foreign transactions across multiple channels. Remita processes more than N60 trillion in transaction value annually.

2. Paystack

Founded in 2015, Paystack is a leading payment gateway provider. Its payment gateway enables customers to easily activate collections on their digital touchpoints.

By July 2024, Paystack announced it had processed a staggering N1 trillion in a single month – a milestone that spoke volumes of its rapid adoption among startups and enterprises.

Founded by Nigerian entrepreneurs, Paystack was acquired by global payment company Stripe in October 2020.

3. Flutterwave

Founded in 2016, Flutterwave is a pan-African payments company providing payment gateway services to merchants, fintechs, and other entities. Merchants use Flutterwave payment gateway to receive payments in different currencies through cards, mobile money, USSD, and bank transfers. Flutterwave processed US$31 billion in transaction value in 2024.

4. Interswitch

Founded in 2002, with an initial focus on card switching and processing, Interswitch expanded into providing payment gateway services that enable customers to receive money digitally through different payment channels. Interswitch processed 1.2 billion transactions in March 2023.

5. Seerbit

Founded in 2019, Seerbit is a Nigerian fintech startup with a mandate to bridge Africa’s offline–online payment divide. The Seerbit payment gateway enables its customers to receive payments digitally through multiple payment channels. As of 2025, Seerbit is active in 12 African countries.

6. Fincra

Founded in 2021 with a grand vision to create a borderless Africa seamlessly connected to global finance. It provides multiple APIs for pay-ins (payment gateway, payment links, virtual accounts) and pay-outs (bulk disbursements, IMTO‑licensed transfers). Between 2023 and 2024, Fincra processed over US$10 billion in transaction value.

7. Kora

Founded in 2017, Kora is among the 10 leading payment gateway providers in Nigeria. It initially started as a blockchain remittance platform before pivoting to B2B Payment infrastructure services.

In addition to its payment gateway service, it now offers pay-ins, payouts, virtual accounts, and card issuing across Africa – helping local and global businesses scale in multiple currencies.

8. Moniepoint

Founded in 2015 as Teamapt, Moniepoint has evolved into a leading payment company. Its Monnify payment gateway allows merchants to receive payments through multiple channels, including cards, bank transfers, USSD, etc. As of 2025, Moniepoint processes roughly US$17 billion monthly.

9. eTranzact

Founded in 2003, eTranzact is a leading payments company that provides a wide-array of payment solutions. Its payment gateway Webconnect, enables businesses to accept payments via cards, USSD, bank transfers, etc.

Merchants on Webconnect benefit from seamless integration, a transaction dashboard, and prompt settlements. eTranzact processes trillions of Naira in payment value annually.

10. HabariPay

Founded in 2021, HabariPay is the fintech subsidiary of GTCO. Its Squad payment gateway allows merchants to collect payments from a variety of payment channels, including cards, bank transfers, USSD, etc. HabariPay processed N27.4 trillion in 2024 alone.

It’s the 21st century, but bank transfers can still be an exercise in frustration—delays, failed transactions, app logins, and the dreaded “network issues.” But what if transfers could be as smooth as sending a text message? What if you could move money across banks in seconds, without the usual stress?

That’s the question Paystack asked itself, and the answer is Zap—a product designed with ruthless focus on one thing: bank transfers that just work. No fluff, no distractions.

At “An Evening with Paystack,” the company unveiled Zap with a live Demo that gives you instant trust for the product.

“What would it take to start and finish a transfer within 30 seconds? What would it take for this to work every single time? And wouldn’t it be great if I could just link all my accounts so I don’t have to even log into my bank?” 

That was the thought process behind Zap, as Shola Akinlade, co-founder and CEO of Paystack explained. The goal? Speed, reliability, and seamlessness. Not a new bank, not a financial super-app—just a frictionless way to send money instantly.

Zap allows users to link multiple bank accounts in one place, removing the need to constantly switch apps. So groceries, splitting bills, or handling recurring payments is easier with Zap, ensuring money moves fast, without the usual banking gymnastics.

But interestingly, Zap isn’t just for Nigerians. Paystack has built it to work for non-residents and visitors as well. A user with a Bank of America account can send money to a Nigerian bank account via Apple Pay in seconds.

That’s a first in the Nigerian fintech space.

Beyond Zap, The Paystack Empire Expands

While Zap stole the spotlight, Paystack had a lot more to say about its progress. Over the past year, the company has doubled down on three things:

1. Infrastructure reliability
2. Helping businesses scale across Africa
3. Building tools that drive business growth

Here’s what that looks like in numbers:

• In Q4 2024 alone, Paystack’s API processed over 3 billion requests, with an uptime of 99.9927%—just 9.5 minutes of downtime in an entire quarter.
• Transaction speed has doubled, with API latency dropping from 446 milliseconds to 254 milliseconds—essentially responding in a quarter of a second.
• Bank transfers via Paystack Titan now surpass Visa, Mastercard, and Verve on its platform—98% of these transfers are confirmed within 10 seconds.
• For airlines (all local airlines in Nigeria now use Paystack), 92% of refunds are processed instantly.

That last metric is particularly commendable. Few payment companies globally can claim instant refunds as a standard.

Again, Paystack now holds payment licenses in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and Rwanda, with more on the way.

Paystack Passkeys: You Can’t Steal My Password if I Don’t Have One

One of the biggest surprises of the night was Paystack Passkeys—a security upgrade that ditches passwords altogether.

Instead of remembering (and forgetting) complicated passwords, Paystack users can now log in using biometric authentication (Face ID, fingerprint, or device PIN). This means:

• No more phishing risks – Since there’s no password to steal, hackers have a harder time gaining access.
• Faster logins – No more typing long credentials or dealing with one-time passwords (OTPs) that sometimes don’t arrive.
• Stronger security – Passkeys use cryptographic authentication, making them far more secure than traditional passwords.

With this, Paystack is joining global giants like Google, Apple, and Microsoft in adopting passkeys as the future of online security.

The company’s vision has always been bigger than just processing payments. It is obsessed with helping businesses win, and 2024 saw several key upgrades:

1. Paystack Terminals: The Next Phase of In-Person Payments

With the introduction of Paystack Terminals, merchants can now accept payments via card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and contactless methods seamlessly. This isn’t just another POS system—it’s deeply integrated into the Paystack ecosystem, ensuring businesses have real-time visibility on every sale.

2. Fraud Prevention, But Smarter

Fraud is a huge challenge in digital payments, but Paystack has been aggressive in tackling it. The company’s fraud detection system has evolved to predict and block fraudulent transactions with greater accuracy, reducing fraud losses for merchants.

3. Paystack Business Banking

A lesser-known but highly impactful update—businesses on Paystack can now manage their finances, payments, and reconciliations all in one place, making cash flow management significantly easier.

Paystack envisions becoming Africa’s most preferred fintech infrastructure provider. Payments, business tools, banking—everything is being interconnected, making it easier for businesses to scale across markets.

And this is just the beginning.

“Over the course of the year, we’ll be expanding Zap to more countries across Africa. The next time I show up in Kenya, for example, I’ll be able to pay someone on M-PESA via Zap,” Akinlade revealed.

Zap is a huge one for both individuals and businesses. It strips away the inefficiencies of bank transfers, providing a faster, more reliable alternative that simply works.

For Paystack, however, this launch is about something much bigger—bolstering its part as the infrastructure layer powering Africa’s financial sector.

With a track record of high reliability, a growing suite of business tools, and now a consumer-facing product like Zap, Paystack is reiterating the fact that the sustainability of fintech in Africa will be built here, and they plan to lead it.