Africa ranks second on global payments innovation index

Africa has been ranked as the region with the second-highest innovation in payments, according to the Global Payments Innovation Jury 2024 by Interswitch Group.

The Middle East was ranked alongside Africa because it has invested heavily in payment technologies.

“Africa remains somewhat of an enigma, retaining its second-place ranking from previous studies despite challenging economics in many markets and a relative lack of investment funding for companies needing to scale.

“The ranking is a tribute to the resourcefulness of the continent’s entrepreneurs operating in innovating in often difficult conditions,” Interswitch Group said.

Asia Pacific led as the region driving the most innovations in payment. North America, South America, and Europe are behind Africa and the Middle East in the ranking.

The payment company further noted that banks, rather than fintech or mobile network providers, will ultimately be the major players in the global mobile wallet space.

The company noted that while most of the mobile wallet buzz is around new market entrants (mainly MNOs in developing markets and fintechs everywhere), banks are not finished yet and are best placed for success once the demand for wallets becomes more regulated.

John Chaplin, senior adviser/Board Director at Interswitch and the founder and chairman of the Global Jury, said, “I think that profitability will remain much more important than hyper-growth. Over the past few years, investors and the broader market have tended to believe that high growth automatically leads to profitability.

“I don’t think that is always right. Business leaders should always be seeking to generate a return for shareholders in the not-too-distant future.”

The Global Jury comprises 136 jurors in senior roles at national payment companies, banks, fintech, payment policy bodies, central banks, and investors.

Mitchell Elegbe, founder and group chief executive officer at Interswitch, said, “We are thrilled at Interswitch to contribute our perspective, as a pan-African payments innovation enabler, to this report, which, with every edition, continues to facilitate a more balanced appraisal and better understanding of the global payments industry as it continues to evolve ever so dynamically.”