Onafriq, Africa’s largest digital payments network, has launched a new feature in Ghana enabling seamless transfers between prepaid cards and mobile money wallets — a move designed to give users more flexibility in managing their funds.
How it works
Users can now:
- Top up prepaid cards directly from their mobile money wallets
- Cash out from prepaid cards to wallets
- Move funds between platforms regardless of their primary store of value
The rollout
This new functionality is made possible through partnerships with:
- First Atlantic Bank (FAB)
- Agricultural Development Bank (ADB)
Why it matters:
“We know mobile money is the dominant store of value for millions of Africans, but it isn’t always accepted for all types of transactions,” said Ike Anison, Country Director for Onafriq Ghana.
“By linking wallets to cards, we’re giving users more options to transact across both local and global ecosystems.”
The big picture
The update reflects a growing trend in African fintech — bridging the gap between mobile money, the continent’s most accessible financial tool, and card-based payments, which unlock both local and global digital commerce.
- Onafriq’s 2023 acquisition of Global Technology Partners (GTP) enabled this kind of card interoperability.
- Real-time funding and defunding of cards using wallets is becoming a key tool for digital financial inclusion.
By the numbers
According to the Bank of Ghana (May 2024):
- 68M+ registered mobile money accounts
- 24M active users
What they’re saying:
Franklin Gbedzi, CIO, First Atlantic Bank: “This is a practical, powerful feature… we’re giving our customers the ability to move money more intuitively.”
Alexander Forson, Head of E-Business, ADB: “It’s a step forward for customers who want to better control how and where they use their funds.”
The bottom line
Onafriq’s card-to-wallet innovation is another step in its mission to build Africa’s most connected payments network — linking nearly a billion mobile wallets and 500 million bank accounts to make money movement as seamless as a phone call.
Learn more about other African tech startups on Labari Insights, our data repository for tech in Africa: insights.techlabari.com
