Eva Nyamori argues that Africa’s payment systems need to connect businesses, governments and financial institutions, not just let people send money by phone. In an opinion article published Sept. 29, 2026, Nyamori, the Global Chief Strategy Officer at CapitalPay International, draws attention to a less visible layer of digital infrastructure: the systems that shape how transactions move through the economy and how institutions handle them.
The systems behind the payment
Digital payments create transaction records. Those records become more useful when they connect to wider business and government systems, Nyamori says. Businesses can track and reconcile transactions more easily, while connected systems can support government administration and visibility. These gains aren't automatic; the article says they depend on infrastructure, adoption, regulation, trust, design and implementation.
Digitising a payment is only one step. Government processes that rely on disconnected systems may send transactions through several administrative steps before reconciliation and reporting. Each manual step, the article says, creates opportunities for delay, error or incomplete information. People and businesses navigating those processes bear the friction. The systems above them determine how much remains.
The GSMA State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026 said mobile money services processed more than $2 trillion (Sh260 billion) in transactions globally during 2025, a 23 per cent increase from 2024. Nyamori argues that attention should extend beyond individual payment products to systems that let payments work across broader economic processes. A large transaction total, by itself, doesn't show whether systems connect or whether consumers and businesses can use them effectively.
No single template
African economies don't share the same conditions. Many businesses operate informally, consumers use both cash and digital payment channels, and connectivity and financial access vary within and between countries. Digital payments alone can't resolve those challenges, though they can help connect economies, the article argues.
Kenya’s payments ecosystem has developed differently from Tanzania’s, while South Sudan faces different institutional and economic conditions. Nyamori says infrastructure needs to reflect local realities while connecting to wider financial systems. African technology companies working across multiple markets may draw on experience in different environments, but implementation still has to adapt to local requirements. Some principles may transfer; others need redesign.
A single, centrally designed fix has practical limits. The article calls for interoperability, appropriate regulation, security and trust, alongside designs suited to African markets. Its focus is on how those systems are built and connected, not on a specific legislative proposal or election campaign. It describes no grassroots mutual-aid effort or community-run payment system, so it offers no example of people organizing outside those institutions.
Records, access and the power to connect
Greater visibility over transactions can support business management, and more efficient payment processes can reduce administrative friction. Digital records can improve information for decision-making; easier access to formal payment systems can widen participation in the formal economy. Those are possible effects, not guarantees. Adoption, regulation, trust and implementation still shape who can use the systems and what they deliver.
Nyamori’s broader question is what happens when payments become part of infrastructure linking consumers, businesses, governments and financial institutions. The article says Africa’s digital economy will be built not only through phone applications but also through the infrastructure operating behind them. That quieter layer is where records meet administration, and where connection—or disconnection—sets the terms for businesses and consumers.