Payment solutions provider Enza has formed a strategic partnership with Mastercard to enhance financial inclusion across Africa by connecting fintech companies to Mastercard's payment network.

The collaboration, announced today, will enable digital financial service providers to integrate Mastercard payments directly into their platforms.

Founded in 2023, Enza offers cloud-native payment solutions to fintechs and mobile network operators, providing services such as real-time payments, digital wallets and open API infrastructure. Through this partnership, Enza will host consumer and merchant accounts while managing integration with Mastercard's network, ensuring robust security and system reliability.

The agreement will allow fintech companies to establish prepaid or postpaid accounts and issue both physical and virtual Mastercard cards. Businesses will gain the ability to accept Mastercard payments across multiple channels including in-store, online and in-app transactions.

Both companies highlighted how the partnership reduces complexity and speeds up market entry for digital financial service providers across Africa. Enza referenced a recent European Investment Bank report showing the number of African fintech firms has nearly tripled since 2020.

"Many of these innovators focus on embedding payment services into broader solutions that improve financial access, offering alternatives to legacy systems that often have high operational costs," Enza stated.

Mete Guney, executive vice president for market development in EEMEA at Mastercard, emphasised the company's commitment to supporting fintech growth through network access. "Our collaboration with Enza will help African fintech innovators deploy embedded payment solutions more efficiently, accelerating both financial inclusion and the region's digital transformation," Guney added.

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