Standard Bank Group and UnionPay International are strategizing to boost eCommerce adoption in Africa

Africa’s largest bank by assets, Standard Bank Group, with operations across 20 African countries, has joined forces with UnionPay International, a subsidiary of China’s UnionPay, to boost eCommerce in several African nations. This new initiative is expected to increase the adoption of UnionPay, attracting more eCommerce businesses and customers to the bank’s platform.

This development comes four years after Standard Bank introduced its South African account holders to the UnionPay card, both virtual and physical, via its Shyft app, a fintech platform. This move was intended to ease transactions for the numerous South Africans who travel to China each year for business and leisure.

Bill Blackie, the Chief Executive of Business and Commercial Banking at Standard Bank Group, stated that this latest move ensures customers across Africa have easy access to both local and international markets and services.

Asad Burney, Head of UnionPay International Africa, expects the initiative to deliver significant benefits to the bank’s online merchants and existing UnionPay cardholders. It also aims to broaden the exposure of African merchants to an international audience.

Both organisations believe their collaboration is capitalizing on the growing scope of eCommerce across Africa. An International Trade Administration forecast suggests that by 2025, Africa will be home to over half a billion eCommerce users. This demonstrates a steady compound annual growth rate of 17% in online consumers within the market.

Additionally, Standard Bank aims to grow the number of eCommerce merchants using its platform, attract new business, and enhance the adoption of UnionPay services.

UnionPay, which already has a presence in 50 African countries, is set to expand its network further with this agreement, extending its global reach to 181 countries.

In 2021, Standard Bank’s point-of-sale devices began accepting UPI contactless payments in South Africa.

In November 2023, UnionPay International teamed up with Fets, a mobile money platform, to launch virtual cards in Nigeria through the Fet App. This collaboration offers customers access to a variety of payment options, such as digital wallets, virtual cards, and other payment methods.

Competing with the likes of Mastercard and Visa, UnionPay outstripped Visa as the world’s most popular debit card provider in 2022. It commanded 40.03% of the global debit card market, an increase of 1.39 percentage points, while Visa’s market share stood at 38.78%, a decrease of 0.82 percentage points.

In the meantime, Flutterwave recently secured money transfer licences for 13 US states. This move is aimed at enabling faster, more cost-effective, and secure transfer of money between the United States and Africa.