The round saw participation from Futuregrowth Asset Management, 4Di Capital, E4E Africa, Equitable Ventures, Summit Deals, the University Technology Fund and Felix Strategic Investments.

The Cape Town-based startup, with more than 600 000 registered users, is building what it calls an ad-subsidised payments network, a model that removes interest and fees from consumer finance entirely, shifting the cost of instalments to the merchants and brands that actually benefit from the resulting sales.

“Our mission is simple, to make cash-flow management free for consumers,” said Wesley Billett, co-founder and CEO of Happy Pay. “If we can connect the right product to the right person at the right moment and remove payment friction, commerce itself can fund the flexibility. That allows us to deliver installment payments without charging consumers interest.”

The model is a deliberate departure from traditional lending. Where most credit providers rely on interest, fees, or revolving balances, Happy Pay earns through merchant funding.

Retailers pay because flexible payments, paired with well-timed advertising, drive real commercial outcomes: higher conversion, bigger baskets, and access to new customers they wouldn’t otherwise reach.

An AI engine that connects discovery to purchase

Central to Happy Pay’s approach is an AI-driven advertising and distribution engine that matches merchants with high-intent shoppers in real time. The platform draws on behavioural signals, transaction data, affordability insights, and contextual cues to figure out what a user is most likely to buy, and when.

Those offers are then surfaced inside Happy Pay’s own app and pushed across partner apps, digital channels, and other touchpoints, moving consumers from discovery through to checkout with instalment payments already built in.

The key difference from standard digital advertising: Happy Pay optimises for completed purchases, not impressions or clicks.

Merchants pay only when a transaction happens. Consumers get interest-free flexibility at the exact moment they’re ready to buy.

The company describes this as a closed-loop model, one that pushes relevant products to users and drives them into both e-commerce checkouts and physical stores, turning marketing spend into trackable revenue rather than a bet on attention.

From BNPL product to commerce infrastructure

BNPL has taken off globally, but most providers still operate as standalone payment options bolted onto checkout. Happy Pay is going after something bigger: a commerce layer where advertising, payments, and financing work as a single, connected system.

Brands can promote specific products to targeted audiences. Merchants get incremental revenue. Consumers get flexible payments, all within one network. It’s as much an advertising marketplace as it is a financial product, sitting at the intersection of fintech, commerce, and adtech.

Built for markets where credit is expensive

In South Africa, consumer credit typically carries high interest rates and access to affordable lending remains patchy. Short-term instalment options have filled a gap as people look for predictable repayment structures that don’t saddle them with long-term debt.

“Our growth reflects a shift that’s been building for a while, toward financial tools that offer real flexibility without the trap of revolving balances. Traditional credit in South Africa is expensive, with the average credit-active consumer spending around 28% of their net income on debt repayments,” said Billett.

“We believe our model changes that equation by creating value for every participant. Merchants grow sales and acquire new customers, consumers gain access to cost-free cash-flow flexibility, and we build a business designed to deliver positive, long-term impact.”

“We’ve looked at most BNPL companies across Africa, Europe and the US, and we’re clear that the best model for creating true value is the one Happy Pay has built. BNPL only makes sense when it delivers real affordability for consumers while helping merchants improve conversion, grow their client base, build loyalty, and reduce acquisition costs.” said Matthieu Marchand, Principal at Partech

Funding to accelerate scale

The fresh capital will go toward expanding merchant partnerships, growing distribution across digital and physical channels, and continuing to develop the AI-driven recommendations and ads engine.

A bet that the future of consumer finance isn’t interest

“Finance has previously been monetised through the consumer,” concludes Billett. “We’re proving it can be monetised through value creation instead. When merchants grow, consumers shouldn’t have to go into debt to make that happen.”

Built on a maturing instant payments backbone, electronic transactions are increasing, regulators are asserting closer oversight, and accessibility to credit is getting stronger.

The Nigerian fintech space is projected to contribute around $6 billion to the nation’s GDP by the end of 2026, which will be largely driven by payments processing and expanding digital credit access.

In February 2026, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unveiled an 18-month fintech roadmap focused on implementing open banking, strengthening supervision, and enabling secure cross-border interoperability.

The plan is widely seen as a defining moment for the next phase of growth in the sector.

Regulatory scrutiny is also intensifying. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) set a January 2026 compliance deadline for digital lenders, granting a final grace period until April for registration. Platforms that fail to meet the requirements risk delisting.

The move is aimed at curbing predatory practices while preserving innovation in a market that disbursed an estimated $865 million in digital loans in 2025.

On the infrastructure side, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Instant Payments platform maintained top maturity ratings across Africa in late 2025 and continues to process billions of naira in real-time transfers each year.

Meanwhile, deployed POS terminals crossed the 8 million mark in early 2025, with first-quarter transaction values exceeding ₦10.5 trillion.

Taken together, these developments reflect how far Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem has come in the past decade, especially in expanding financial services to underserved and unbanked communities.

Below are ten trends expected to shape payments and digital lending in 2026.

1. Phased Rollout of Open Banking

The CBN’s open banking framework is set to begin limited commercial operations this year. Licensed participants will be able to share customer-consented data securely through standardised APIs.

Early applications are expected to focus on payment initiation and improved credit scoring for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as individuals in the informal sector.

With better access to verified financial data, lenders are likely to refine underwriting models and develop more tailored products.

2. Continued Growth in Real-Time Payments

Instant transfers are at the heart of Nigeria’s electronic payments system. Real-time rails are already dominant for salary payments, merchant settlements, person-to-person transfers and bill payments.

With transaction volumes increasing, operators are expected to prioritise infrastructure resilience, especially during peak periods, to minimise service disruptions.

3. Shift Toward a More Cash-Lite Economy

Cash usage in everyday transactions has been declining steadily over the past few years. Analysts expect the trend to continue, supported by mobile wallets, expanding POS networks and government-backed cashless policies.

Digital channels are now playing a bigger role in e-commerce, informal retail and rural-urban remittances, gradually reshaping payment behaviour.

4. Faster and Cheaper Cross-Border Payments

Cross-border remittances and trade payments are becoming more efficient, helped by fintech partnerships and improving foreign exchange liquidity. Some platforms are exploring blockchain-based corridors and stablecoin settlements, while traditional remittance channels benefit from better interoperability.

These changes could support diaspora inflows and small-scale trade transactions under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework.

5. Consolidation in Digital Lending

Following the FCCPC’s enforcement actions, the digital lending market is expected to shrink in number but strengthen in structure. Non-compliant operators may exit or restructure to meet standards on pricing transparency, debt collection and data privacy.

Industry watchers expect surviving players to focus more on sustainable underwriting and long-term customer relationships rather than short-term loan cycles.

6. Expansion of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)

Africa’s Buy Now, Pay Later market is projected to reach $6.5 billion in gross merchandise value in 2026, with Nigeria ranking among the leading contributors alongside Kenya, South Africa and Egypt.

Integration with major e-commerce platforms and offline retail chains is likely to deepen adoption. At the same time, regulators are paying closer attention to affordability checks and credit risk management.

7. Greater Use of Alternative Data in Credit Scoring

The push for e-invoicing and digital transaction records is opening up new data sources for lenders. Verified tax filings, payment histories and utility records are increasingly being used to assess creditworthiness.

For informal-sector operators without traditional credit histories, this could mean broader access to formal finance.

8. Evolution of POS and Agent Banking

While POS deployment continues in both urban and rural areas, growth is slowing in major cities where the market is nearing saturation.

Attention is shifting toward agent profitability and the introduction of value-added services such as micro-loans, savings products and bill payments through agent networks.

9. Extension of the Global Standing Instruction (GSI)

The CBN has signalled plans to extend the Global Standing Instruction framework to fintech lenders and microfinance banks.

If implemented broadly, the move could strengthen loan recovery mechanisms, reduce default rates and promote more responsible lending practices across the digital credit space.

10. Rise of Embedded Finance and Super-Apps

Financial services are increasingly being built into non-financial platforms, including ride-hailing apps, online marketplaces and utility payment systems.

Payments, wallets, micro-insurance and small-ticket loans are now integrated into everyday digital platforms. As competition intensifies, companies are racing to offer seamless, all-in-one experiences while keeping up with regulatory demands.

Final Analysis

Nigeria’s digital financial services ecosystem is moving into a more mature phase. Payments infrastructure is largely in place, shifting the focus toward scale, stability and cross-border integration.

At the same time, digital lending is entering a period of tighter regulation and consolidation.

The projected $6 billion contribution from fintech to GDP in 2026 underlines the sector’s growing economic weight.

How effectively these trends translate into deeper financial inclusion and long-term stability will depend on continued coordination between regulators, operators and infrastructure providers in a policy environment that is still evolving.

The relaunch introduces the company’s first debit and credit cards in the UK and a new free loyalty programme called PayPal+, aimed at rewarding customers for their everyday spending.

Nearly two years after reorganising its operations following Brexit, PayPal is refocusing on British consumers with a £150 million investment to expand its products and strengthen its local presence.

This will also boost the company’s competitive edge with platforms such as Apple Pay, Revolut, and Klarna, all of which have grown fast in the UK’s digital payments sector.

Nigeria’s Digital Economy is Ready – PayPal isn’t | Here’s Why That Must Change

Through the new offering, nearly 30 million PayPal users in the UK can now earn points through PayPal+, redeemable at checkout across millions of online stores worldwide.

Every 1,000 points equals £10, and users can stack their PayPal+ points with other loyalty schemes. Membership is free, and the tier system, Blue, Gold, and Black, offers rewards, with the top tiers providing up to 50% more value, exclusive perks, and VIP experiences.

PayPal’s Debit Card, available for the first time in the UK, links directly to a user’s PayPal wallet and can be used globally without transaction fees.

Customers using the card while paying for everyday purchases will earn ten times more points. The debit card can also be added to smartphones for contactless payments, providing both convenience and flexibility.

The company is also expanding PayPal Credit to work in physical stores through virtual and physical cards. Customers can earn loyalty points whether they pay online or in-store, combining credit flexibility with added benefits. PayPal’s popular “Pay in 3” Buy Now, Pay Later option is active and now earns users PayPal+ points as well.

Beyond payments, PayPal is building brand partnerships to enhance its loyalty programme. Collaborations with Live Nation UK will give PayPal+ members early access to festivals and exclusive on-site experiences. More partnerships are expected to be announced soon.

Speaking on the relaunch, Diego Scotti, general manager of PayPal’s Consumer Group, said:

“This is the start of an exciting new chapter for PayPal in the UK. We’ve listened to our customers and reimagined our products into one unified solution, offering the smarter way to pay both online and in-stores. With PayPal+, we’ve flipped the script on loyalty. 

“That means no fees where others charge, a new debit card that delivers 10 times as many points, and more ways to get rewarded for everyday spend, including Buy Now Pay Later. This will redefine what value looks like with every payment.”

Tamer El-Emary, general manager of PayPal UK, added, “Our investment reflects a deep commitment to British consumers, businesses, and communities. We’ve listened to our customers and built products that rethink how people use PayPal every day.

“For years, millions of people have trusted PayPal when they shop online or on their phones. Now we want to bring everything they love about PayPal online to the high street. Simple, secure, and now with PayPal+ it’s more rewarding.”

This surge, driven by Amazon’s extended Prime Day event and counter-promotions from rivals, shows a retail environment now defined by deep discounts, digital tools, and tariff anxiety.

Compared to last year’s same-period figure of $18.5 billion, this year’s projection from Adobe Analytics is a 28.4% year-on-year jump. It surpasses Black Friday 2024’s entire online haul by more than double. “This is equivalent to two Black Fridays,” Adobe said in its forecast.

The Prime Day window, now stretched from the usual 48 hours to 96, comes as Amazon tries to hold ground against Walmart’s July 8–13 “Deals” event and Target’s “Circle Week” running July 6–12. 

All three are pushing loyalty incentives, exclusive deals, and early access to shoppers willing to spend before the July 9 tariff deadline set by former President Donald Trump. That date is getting closer, with unresolved trade negotiations casting a shadow over pricing certainty.

With prices on edge and wallets under pressure, shoppers are moving fast. They’re chasing discounts and being tactical at the same time. Mobile phones are expected to drive more than half of all purchases, accounting for $12.5 billion, as real-time alerts and notifications trigger impulse buying. 

Buy Now, Pay Later usage is also climbing, with Adobe estimating it will cover 8% of total online spend, up from 7.6% last year.

Adobe expects a massive uptick in affiliate-driven sales, noting that nearly 20% of this year’s revenue will come from influencer and affiliate links, a 16.6% increase from last year. 

Generative shopping tools, including bots and assistants embedded in apps and websites, are leading to a 3,200% increase in traffic to retail platforms compared to 2024’s Prime Day.

What are people buying? Apparel tops the discount chart with an average 24% markdown, followed by electronics at 22% and TVs at 17%. Appliances (16%), toys (15%), furniture (14%), and computers (12%) also feature heavily. Sporting goods round out the list at 10%. 

Back-to-school essentials—backpacks, headphones, lunch boxes—are flying off digital shelves as early buyers hunt for bargains before price hikes become a reality.

The numbers behind this retail explosion are based on Adobe’s analysis of over 1 trillion visits to U.S. e-commerce sites, spanning 100 million product listings and 18 categories. It’s not a sample, it’s the system.

Retailers, meanwhile, aren’t resting. They’re under pressure to match or beat Amazon on delivery times, perks, and price cuts.

The battleground isn’t just Prime Day, but the wider race for digital takeover in an economy where inflation, trade policies, and evolving consumer habits are changing everything in real time.

This year, in addition to this active campaign of banking credentials theft, cybercriminals did not stand still and developed new scam schemes.

Ahead of Black Friday in particular, fraudsters used a new type of phishing scheme for the first time exploiting Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services.

These are some of the findings from Kaspersky’s ‘How customers got scammed amid the Black Friday season in 2022’ report aimed at educating users on staying safe during the sales season.

Banking Trojans are widely used tools in the arsenal of cybercriminals profiting from the sales season. Once the user browses in an online store, the Trojan saves all the data the user enters into the website’s forms.

This means cybercriminals get access to a credit or debit card number, expiration date and CVV, and the victim’s site login credentials. Having obtained this information, the attackers may use it to empty the user’s bank account, use their card details for purchases or sell the data in the Dark web stores.

After a rapid drop in the number of attacks with banking Trojans in 2021, cybercriminals have returned to this type of threat with renewed strength. In 2022, the number of attacks doubled compared to the same time period in 2021.

From January to October, Kaspersky products detected and prevented almost 20 million attacks, meaning that the overall growth in the number of detections is 92%.

The sales season inevitably attracts the attention of shoppers and retailers. However, it is also a favorite time for cybercriminals, who do not hesitate to cash in on online customers.

Cybercriminals create juicy offers that are fake and expire quickly, so the user must hurry to get the goods for free or at the lowest price.

This is where cybercriminals catch customers, who are hungry for freebies and don’t look carefully at the site they are entering their data into: the phishing or the original one.

In 2022, Kaspersky experts also found numerous examples of phishing pages for the first time abusing BNPL services.

These tools allow customers to split the cost of the purchase into several interest-free installments. Therefore, these services appeal to consumers, especially youngsters, and have proven to be particularly popular during shopping periods such as Black Friday.

An example of this scam is the misuse of a popular service named Afterpay (Clearpay in the U.K. and Italy), with 20 million active users across the world. Perpetrators set up a page mimicking the official website, tricking unsuspecting victims into entering their credit card numbers and CVVs into a fake form.

After the user has entered their details, cybercriminals will try to steal as much money as possible from this card, emptying the victim’s wallet.

“The shopping event of the year – Black Friday – is a hot time not only for sellers and their buyers, but also for scammers who want to steal as much money as possible from hurried customers. The new scheme exploiting Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services only proves that cybercriminals do not stop in their desire to attack victims and come up with new methods to do so. On ordinary days the customer can easily understand: if the product is too cheap, it’s most likely a scam, but during the Black Friday sales period this fact isn’t so clear. Shoppers become less vigilant and are therefore an easy target for cybercriminals. That’s why it’s so important to pay attention to which site you buy from, be careful with unfamiliar companies and use a reliable security solution,” comments Olga Svistunova, security expert at Kaspersky.