Visa announces its partnership with Flocash the fastest growing fintech in FT Africa in 2022, to promote the digital capabilities of African SMEs. The first step in this partnership is the launch of Flostore, powered by a Visa digital wallet and the pan-African payment platform Flocash. The platform can also help small businesses accept digital payments, manage procurement and access financial services across Africa.
In addition to Flostore, Flocash and Visa will work together to integrate financing into payments and bring the element of analytics, accounting and reconciliation for small businesses through Visa’s dynamic underwriting capabilities that include buy now, pay later structures.
Flostore Tap2phone’s capabilities allow small businesses to transform their existing mobile devices into payment acceptance terminals. Tap2phone is an essential and cost-effective mechanism for developing a digital payment infrastructure in developing markets.
On the other hand, CyberSource Payment Gateway technology incorporates all the security protocols in place to give customers peace of mind when conducting online transactions. It is designed to provide enhanced fraud protection, minimize cardholder friction and increase sales completion, resulting in a better experience for all parties involved. This helps merchants and issuers detect and avoid fraud more effectively.
Through digitization, SMEs can use their digital footprint to tap into traditional and alternative sources of funding to grow the business. Digitizing the lending process allows banks to streamline their inefficient SME lending processes and deliver value to their customers. 82% of small and micro businesses responding to Visa’s annual 2022 Outlook Survey indicated a preference for digital payment options.
SMEs account for 90% of all businesses in Africa but have an annual financing gap of over US$136 billion according to IFC. A digitized SME sector will unlock the enormous market potential of the African continent, supported by rapid population growth.
By DGE