Africa's Fintech Second Wave: From Payments to Credit Infrastructure as Revenue Eyes $65 Billion by 2030

Africa's fintech industry, long celebrated for pioneering mobile money and digital payments at scale, is entering a more complex and consequential phase of growth—one that will test whether the sector can move from enabling transactions to powering broad-based economic transformation.

A 2026 report by Boston Consulting Group, "Beyond Payments: Unlocking Africa's Second FinTech Wave," finds that while the continent has built one of the world's most advanced digital payment ecosystems, future growth will depend on expanding into credit, financial infrastructure, and cross-border integration—areas that remain significantly underdeveloped. The report estimates that Africa's fintech revenues could rise from roughly $10 billion to more than $65 billion by 2030, representing a more than sixfold increase.

The payments plateau

Sub-Saharan Africa today accounts for nearly 70 percent of global mobile money accounts and processes over $800 billion in mobile money transactions annually. In markets such as Kenya, mobile money transactions already exceed 50 percent of GDP, underscoring the scale and systemic importance of digital payments. M-Pesa, launched by Safaricom in 2007, now serves 40 million monthly active users in Kenya, embedding payments, savings, credit, and investment tools into everyday financial life.

However, this success has not translated into equally strong access to broader financial services. More than half of African adults still lack access to formal credit, and informal lending continues to dominate in many economies. For businesses, the gap is even more pronounced. Small and medium-sized enterprises—often described as the backbone of African economies—face a financing shortfall estimated at more than $330 billion.

"Africa has led the world in mobile money adoption, but the next phase of fintech will be defined by depth, not just reach," BCG said. Without foundational elements like credit infrastructure and cross-border integration, the report warns, Africa's fintech sector risks remaining "high-volume but low-value."

The credit and infrastructure gap

While consumer payments have surged, a significant share of business transactions across Africa remains cash-based. In some markets, more than 80 percent of small business transactions are still conducted in cash, limiting transparency and access to finance. Digitizing these flows could have a transformative impact. BCG estimates that shifting even 20 to 30 percent of informal business payments into digital channels could unlock billions of dollars in additional lending capacity by improving financial visibility and creditworthiness.

Cross-border payments present another major opportunity, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area. The need for deeper financial integration extends beyond consumers to businesses, where transparent, digital transaction flows can serve as the foundation for expanded credit access.

Diaspora remittances and the fintech race

In 2024, an estimated $100 billion was remitted to Sub-Saharan Africa through formal channels, while informal flows are believed to account for an additional 30–50 percent. In Nigeria alone, about $21 billion was sent back to the country from its diaspora in 2024, accounting for approximately 6 percent of its gross domestic product. For policymakers, however, the challenge is to convert these largely consumption-driven inflows into savings and investment that can support sustainable development.

This subject was addressed by a panel on "Fintech and the Future of Remittances" convened as part of the Africa Capital Forum in March, hosted by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Temi Popoola, group CEO of the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), pointed to the tremendous impact that technology has had on the Nigerian market and suggested that digital transformation should also enable capital markets to access investments from the diaspora.

In May 2026, FOLIO, a market research platform with 50,000-plus verified users across Africa and the diaspora, released Africa's first standardized payments app ranking. OPay leads with a Performance Index score of 47.79, followed by PalmPay (44.35), and Afriex (43.96)—a diaspora-first remittance app holding its own against locally dominant wallets. Afriex's Clarity score (9.10) is the third-highest in the category, demonstrating that the local-versus-diaspora divide that has shaped fintech investment theses for the past five years does not translate into a UX divide.

Chipper Cash (42.60) scores evenly across dimensions, with no single weak spot but no single dominant strength either. The market is segmenting on what users prioritize, not on where the app was incubated.

In a significant strategic move, Tether—the issuer of USDT—made a strategic investment in cross-border payments fintech LemFi in May 2026 to accelerate stablecoin-powered remittances across emerging market corridors. LemFi, which connects diaspora senders in the UK, US, Canada, and Europe with recipients in Africa and Asia, will integrate USDT as a settlement layer, replacing multi-day SWIFT chains with near-instant, lower-cost transactions. The deal places stablecoin rails at the centre of LemFi's infrastructure roadmap, with progressive rollout planned across its broader product suite.

The competitive landscape tightens

Artificial intelligence may have dominated startup conversations in 2025, but for African fintechs, particularly those operating across borders, stablecoins emerged as the more consequential trend. As the industry looks toward 2026, however, fintech leaders remain divided on the role stablecoins will ultimately play.

On expansion, fintechs continue to push into new markets despite persistent doubts about their viability, even as Africa's fragmented regulatory landscape remains a major constraint. Ayodele of Brass noted that "the modular approach of going country by country is becoming too slow," arguing that cross-border collaboration and passporting will be critical. The fintech passporting agreement between Ghana and Rwanda stood out as a landmark development in 2025, raising hopes for deeper cross-border collaboration across the continent.

Global fintechs are also strengthening their African footprint. Blockchain.com opened its first physical office on the continent, while dLocal strengthened its presence through the acquisition of AZA Finance. According to fintech analyst Ayodele, the growing presence of global fintechs is both a validation of Africa's opportunity and a wake-up call for local startups, particularly as these players invest in building teams with local expertise.

What to watch next

As the fintech ecosystem expands, so too do risks. Fraud, cybersecurity threats, and data privacy concerns are increasing, particularly as transaction volumes grow. The BCG report notes that fraud losses in digital financial services have been rising in several African markets, highlighting the need for stronger security frameworks. Building trust will be essential to sustaining adoption, particularly as fintech services expand into more complex areas such as lending and insurance.

With a young, rapidly growing population and increasing digital connectivity, Africa is well positioned to become one of the world's most dynamic fintech markets. But the next phase will require a more coordinated and strategic approach. The opportunity is significant—if the industry can move beyond payments to build the credit infrastructure, cross-border rails, and security frameworks needed to support sustainable, inclusive growth.

Reporting drawn from Pan African Visions, TechCabal, African Business, Frontier Fintech, Techpoint Africa, Vanguard Nigeria.