Contactless payment technology has transformed the payment experience in mature markets — in Australia, over 90 per cent of in-store card transactions are now contactless; in the UK, the figure exceeds 80 per cent. Africa's trajectory is different — more varied, more complex, and shaped by the continent's unique combination of advanced banking markets and emerging financial systems. As 2023 unfolds, the state of contactless payments across Africa presents a picture of accelerating but uneven adoption.
South Africa: The Continental Leader
South Africa remains the clear leader in African contactless adoption. The country's major banks now issue virtually all new debit and credit cards with dual-interface capability, ensuring that every new cardholder has contactless functionality. Visa reports that contactless transactions in South Africa grew by over 200 per cent between 2019 and 2022, accelerated by the pandemic and the raising of contactless floor limits to R500.
The merchant acceptance infrastructure is well developed. Virtually all modern point-of-sale terminals deployed in South Africa by terminal manufacturers and payment service providers now support contactless acceptance. In urban retail environments — supermarkets, fuel stations, fast-food outlets, and pharmacies — tap-to-pay has become the default transaction method for a growing majority of consumers.
Yet gaps remain. In informal markets, spaza shops, and rural retail environments, cash remains dominant. The penetration of card-accepting infrastructure in these segments is limited, and many consumers in lower-income demographics continue to withdraw cash from ATMs and transact exclusively in the cash economy. South Africa's contactless success story is primarily an urban, formally banked consumer phenomenon.
Nigeria: Scale and Complexity
Nigeria's contactless journey is shaped by the country's enormous scale and its complex payment landscape. With over 200 million people and a banking sector that includes dozens of commercial banks, the pace of contactless card issuance and terminal deployment varies significantly across institutions and regions.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has been supportive of contactless technology, and major banks including Access Bank, Zenith Bank, and GTBank have launched contactless card products. However, the terminal infrastructure has lagged — many of Nigeria's existing POS terminals do not support contactless acceptance, requiring a hardware upgrade cycle that takes time and investment. The country's e-payment infrastructure has focused more on QR code-based payments and mobile money than on NFC contactless, creating a parallel digital payment ecosystem that competes for merchant and consumer attention.
Kenya: The Mobile Money Factor
Kenya's payment landscape is uniquely shaped by the dominance of M-Pesa and other mobile money platforms. With mobile money penetration exceeding 80 per cent of the adult population, the urgency to adopt contactless card payments is diminished — Kenyans already have a fast, convenient electronic payment method in their pockets.
Nevertheless, contactless card issuance is growing, driven by the needs of Kenya's expanding middle class, the international traveller market, and the premium banking segment. Equity Bank, KCB, and Stanbic Kenya have all introduced contactless card products. The deployment of NFC-capable terminals in Nairobi's modern retail sector — shopping centres, supermarket chains, and international restaurant franchises — is creating the merchant acceptance base that contactless cards require.
Egypt: Rapid Modernisation
Egypt's payment sector has undergone rapid modernisation, driven by government policy initiatives aimed at reducing the country's heavy reliance on cash. The Central Bank of Egypt has mandated that all new POS terminals must support contactless acceptance, creating a regulatory push that accelerates infrastructure readiness. Egyptian banks have responded by issuing contactless-enabled cards across their product ranges, with Meeza — the national payment scheme — supporting contactless on its domestic debit card platform.
North Africa and Francophone West Africa
Morocco and Tunisia have made steady progress in contactless adoption, supported by relatively mature banking sectors and strong regulatory frameworks. Morocco's Visa and Mastercard contactless transaction volumes have shown strong year-on-year growth, and the country's extensive network of card-accepting merchants provides a solid foundation for contactless expansion.
In francophone West Africa, the regional payment infrastructure is coordinated through the Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO), which oversees the monetary union spanning eight countries. The introduction of the GIM-UEMOA regional payment card, combined with terminal modernisation programmes, is laying the groundwork for contactless acceptance across the CFA franc zone.
Infrastructure: The Persistent Challenge
Across the continent, the single most significant barrier to contactless adoption is merchant acceptance infrastructure. A contactless card is only as useful as the number of places where it can be tapped. In many African countries, card-accepting merchants are a small minority, concentrated in urban centres and modern retail formats. Expanding the terminal base into smaller cities, peri-urban areas, and informal commerce remains the key challenge.
Mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) devices — compact, affordable card readers that connect to a merchant's smartphone — are helping to address this gap. Companies like Yoco in South Africa, Flutterwave and Paystack in Nigeria, and DPO Group across multiple African markets are deploying NFC-capable mPOS devices that bring contactless acceptance to small businesses and informal traders at a fraction of the cost of traditional terminals.
The Outlook
Contactless payment in Africa is on an irreversible growth trajectory. The combination of bank-led card issuance, regulatory support, terminal infrastructure expansion, and consumer demand — catalysed by the pandemic — is creating the conditions for contactless to become the default payment method across the continent's formally banked population. The timeline will vary by country, but the direction is unambiguous.
For card manufacturers, this trajectory translates into sustained and growing demand for dual-interface cards — the physical medium that makes contactless payment possible. Every new contactless card issued in Africa represents a manufacturing order, and with hundreds of millions of potential cardholders across the continent, the opportunity is immense.