In a move that signals the deepening maturity of Africa’s digital economy, Pan-African payments powerhouse PawaPay has announced a strategic partnership with global brokerage firm Deriv. The collaboration aims to dismantle the long-standing barriers to mobile money adoption for international platforms, offering a streamlined, high-volume solution for deposits across the continent.
The partnership, which began its rollout in 2025, is now live across eight initial African markets. By integrating PawaPay’s single API, Deriv users can fund their accounts using local mobile money wallets the primary financial “rail” for hundreds of millions of Africans without the friction typically associated with cross-border digital payments.
Solving the “Last Mile” Problem
For global fintech players, the African market has often been a puzzle of fragmented regulations and inconsistent connectivity between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). PawaPay solves this by aggregating over 20 markets into a single, compliant connection, handling everything from local FX and reconciliation to active network monitoring.
Since the integration went live, Deriv has reported significant operational wins:
- Surge in Volumes: A measurable uptick in successful mobile money deposits.
- Infrastructure Reliability: Higher transaction success rates due to PawaPay’s direct links to MNOs.
- Operational Ease: Simplified settlement processes that allow Deriv to treat multiple jurisdictions as a cohesive ecosystem.
Expert Insights
“Mobile money is already deeply embedded in how people transact across Africa,” said Nikolai Barnwell, CEO of PawaPay. “The real challenge for companies expanding across multiple markets is running it reliably once volumes grow. Our role is to make sure payments remain predictable.”
Derek Swift, Head of Client Funding Facilities at Deriv, echoed this sentiment, noting that the partnership has unlocked markets that were previously inaccessible due to infrastructure hurdles.
The Bottom Line
As of March 2026, PawaPay processes over 5 million transactions daily, cementing its status as the leading infrastructure provider for mobile money. For Deriv, this partnership isn’t just about adding a payment method; it’s about localized expansion at scale, ensuring that as their user base grows, their payment backend remains unshakable.
