Africa's imminent payment boom

摘要

Not so long ago, VisaNet in Brazil was floated with a market capitalisation of $llbn and went on to become Cielo. Brazil's population of 200 million had created a highly successful payments industry that, even now, continues to grow at exceptional rates.Compare that with Africa: a population of more than 1 billion but a payments industry that combined is, at best, worth perhaps one-twentieth of Brazil's. While mobile telephony has taken Africa by storm, cash remains king to a degree unparalleled elsewhere.