MultiChoice Group, which owns DStv, SuperSport and other media assets, is launching a new fintech joint venture aimed at developing an “integrated payment platform for Africa”.
The JV – the other investors are Rapyd and General Catalyst – will operate under a newly created company and brand called Moment and comes as MultiChoice works to diversify its business. The group’s bread-and-butter pay-television unit is under growing pressure as a result of the challenging economy and a raft of new streaming competitors that are giving consumers a greatly expanded choice of viewing options.
Moment will consolidate the US$3.5-billion (R69-billion) in payments that MultiChoice Group processes annually.
“Moment offers expanded payment infrastructure for businesses across Africa to help them collect and make payments easier, quicker and more affordable in any manner that their buyers or suppliers prefer,” the group said in a statement on Monday. “Moment will also offer additional options for consumers to spend and save money more wisely. The aim is to transform the African payments landscape by making digital payments more accessible and reliable for domestic, cross-border and global payments.”
MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela said the JV will “address the need for an accessible and reliable payment platform for many small businesses and millions of consumers in Africa”.
“Investing in this venture is a logical progression for us, as we already process payments every month from 22 million households across 50 countries. Moment fulfils our strategy to expand our ecosystem by investing in adjacent businesses that provide scalable services, underpinned by technology,” Mawela said.
The longer-term plan is to provide the infrastructure for pan-African payments for the 44 million small businesses operating on the continent, MultiChoice said, and reduce the reliance on cash for payments. “Moment aims to make digital transactions more accessible to the 350 million consumers that are underbanked or not banked at all,” the company said.
Eventually, Moment will offer payments across more than 40 countries and hundreds of payment methods to “collect, disburse and manage risk”. It wants to help drive the adoption of South Africa’s PayShap and similar real-time payment methods. It also plans to offer global-Africa trade for importers and exporters with virtual accounts in more than 40 currencies and local payments in more than 130 countries.
There will also be payment tools, deep inventory to sell and financial services for micro-entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises, as well as payments, savings and rewards for customers.
