Talk360 unveils new platform to simplifying African e-Commerce payment

Johannesburg and Amsterdam-based Talk360, an app for Africans abroad, has announced the spin-off of its payment platform into a separate entity named NjiaPay, which will be led by a team of fintech executives.

In 2022, Talk360 successfully raised $7 million, attracting investments from African venture capitalists and fintech angels across Europe and South Africa, including executives from Adyen and Mollie and founders of Tyme Bank.

After the funding, Talk360 sought to not only expand its user base among the African diaspora in the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa but deriving from their own experiences, started to explore the potential of establishing a modern payment aggregator designed to streamline and optimise the payment experience across the fragmented African market.

“To continue Talk360’s mission of connecting migrant communities globally, it is vital to capitalize on our strengths. By carving out our payment ambitions into NjiaPay, we’ve sharpened our focus on what we do best—connecting people through our calling app—while paving the way for a new opportunity to improve payments in Africa,” said co-founder and CEO of Talk360, Hans Osnabrugge.

“Over the past two years, we’ve grown from connecting 2.3 million consumers to 4 million last year, fulfilling our promise to bridge migrant communities with their families back home.”

Co-founder and MD for Africa at Talk360, Dean Hiine, added: “The need for a unified payment solution in Africa is as critical today as it was two years ago. Unlike regions with unified payment systems, Africa’s 54 countries each have their own currencies, local payment methods and distinct banking systems, creating a fragmented landscape with no single checkout solution or PSP for the continent.

“For Talk360, as well as other companies, addressing this immense challenge is paramount to offering users their preferred payment methods, especially in key markets like South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria.”

COO at Talk360, Marika Beindorff, highlighted the transformative impact of having a dedicated and knowledgeable team at NjiaPay handle their payments: “Having a single payment partner, and experts with decades of experience, has been a game-changer for us. In our pilot phase, we integrated multiple payment service providers (PSPs) into a single, unified checkout experience with optimized routing based on users’ characteristics. This unique approach led to a remarkable 25% increase in conversion rates, significant operational efficiencies and cost savings.”