Mastercard has announced a strategic partnership with enza, a leading payment solutions provider, to expand access to its global payment infrastructure for fintechs operating across Africa. This collaboration aims to simplify how startups and enterprises integrate Mastercard’s capabilities into their platforms, enabling faster innovation and broader financial inclusion.
Through this alliance, fintechs using enza’s platform will gain seamless access to Mastercard’s embedded payment technologies. This includes tools for issuing physical and digital cards, managing pre-paid and post-paid accounts, and enabling secure payment acceptance across in-store, online, and mobile channels.
The partnership is designed to eliminate the technical and financial barriers that often hinder fintechs from entering the market. By leveraging enza’s infrastructure, developers can focus on building tailored financial solutions for both consumers and businesses without the burden of building core payment systems from scratch.
According to a recent European Investment Bank report, Africa’s fintech ecosystem has experienced explosive growth, with the number of fintech firms nearly tripling since 2020. Many of these companies are embedding payment capabilities into broader platforms that address long-standing gaps in financial access and affordability.
Mete Guney, Executive Vice President of Market Development for Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Mastercard, stated:
This partnership with enza is a key step in our mission to empower fintech innovation. By opening access to our trusted network, we’re enabling developers across Africa to more efficiently deploy secure, embedded payment features.
As part of the agreement, enza will oversee integration with Mastercard’s infrastructure and provide essential services such as account hosting, system security, and platform reliability. This will allow fintechs to scale quickly while maintaining compliance and operational resilience.
Andrew Key, Executive Director at enza, commented;
enza is committed to democratizing access to digital payments across Africa. Our collaboration with Mastercard delivers a powerful foundation for fintechs to innovate without the cost and complexity of building infrastructure from the ground up. Our goal is to help innovators scale faster and more securely.
Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Abu Dhabi, enza operates regional offices in Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa, positioning it at the heart of Africa’s rapidly evolving digital economy.
