Street Wallet, a South African fintech startup focused on mobile payments, has raised $350,000 (R6.2 million) in funding at a valuation of $2 million (R35.5 million). The round, led by undisclosed investors, marks a significant milestone for the company as it aims to deepen its presence in South Africa’s vast informal economy, accelerate sales, and scale operations nationwide.
Founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Kosta Scholiadis, Street Wallet was created to address a persistent challenge in South Africa’s informal sector: the inability of street vendors, car guards, and township shopkeepers to accept digital payments due to unreliable connectivity, lack of infrastructure, and safety concerns.
Street Wallet’s solution is both simple and innovative. Vendors are issued lanyard cards embedded with QR codes linked to their payment profiles. Customers can scan these codes using their smartphones and pay instantly via platforms such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, SnapScan, Zapper, or Scan-To-Pay. Vendors receive SMS confirmations immediately, and the day’s earnings are converted overnight into Standard Bank Instant Money Vouchers, which can be withdrawn at ATMs or retail partners the following morning.
According to the South African Reserve Bank, approximately 3.9 million South Africans remain unbanked or underbanked, often due to high banking fees, complex processes, or mistrust of formal institutions. Street Wallet is positioning itself as a bridge to financial inclusion by offering fast, secure, and liquid payment options tailored to the needs of informal traders.
If a street vendor sells stock today, they need that cash tomorrow to buy more. Waiting two to three days for settlement, as with many POS providers, kills sales momentum.
Kosta Scholiadis
Street Wallet charges a 5% transaction fee for its street market users, with discounted rates for business-to-business partnerships that onboard large user volumes. Current use cases include car washes, petrol attendants, and tip-based services, with plans to expand into tourism payments and wage disbursements.
South Africa’s digital payments landscape is competitive, with established players like SnapScan, Zapper, PayShap, Yoco, and various mobile money platforms. However, Street Wallet differentiates itself by offering low-cost, hardware-free solutions, a QR card instead of a R1,000 ($57) card machine and instant access to cash, which is critical for informal traders.
Street Wallet is expanding across three key verticals:
- Individual street traders
- Business-led merchant networks
- Wage disbursement systems
The company plans to launch its wage payment services in Johannesburg by the end of the year, following successful rollouts in Cape Town and Durban. Additionally, Street Wallet is developing AI-powered analytics tools to provide merchants with personalized transaction insights—without requiring a dedicated data team.
This funding is a strong vote of confidence in our vision to empower informal traders. We are building a financial ecosystem for those left out of the digital economy, and we are just getting started.
Kosta Scholiadis
