Grace Ashiru
Global issuer-processor Paymentology has partnered with South Africa-based Chikwama Pay to launch what the two companies describe as Africa’s first WhatsApp-enabled neobank — a platform that lets users bank, borrow, save, insure, and transact entirely within WhatsApp, without downloading a separate application.
The partnership targets populations that have historically been locked out of traditional financial services: migrant workers, informal traders, and women across the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Through Paymentology’s cloud-first issuing and processing infrastructure, Chikwama Pay gains the ability to issue and process debit cards with real-time transaction management, expand across multiple SADC markets with local compliance, and offer advanced features such as dynamic spend controls and multi-market operations.
Chikwama Pay CEO Alestair Mawoneke said the integration of Paymentology’s infrastructure removes the core barriers of geography, cost, and complexity that have long excluded millions from formal finance. Paymentology Regional Director Kesheni Moodley said the model illustrates how widely-used digital channels can be redirected to broaden financial access — and called it a template for expansion across the region.
The partnership is designed to accelerate Chikwama Pay’s ambition to become the leading pan-African neobank, while reinforcing Paymentology’s focus on driving financial inclusion across emerging markets.
