Skip to main content

When Chiedu Victor landed in Johannesburg, his first instinct was to check his wallet. Not for cash, but to see his balance, a simple act that reflects a much bigger shift: how innovators like Hizo and Fincra are powering borderless payments in Africa.

He booked his Uber and paid for lunch. The waiter smiled as the notification appeared on her local system, payment received. There was no currency exchange, no middleman, and no delay, just value transferred instantly from Naira to her country’s currency.

For the first time, Chiedu experienced what millions of Africans have only imagined, the freedom made possible by innovators powering borderless payments in Africa.

The Problem We All Know Too Well

If you’ve ever tried to send money from Nigeria to Ghana, or pay a bill in Kenya while traveling from Lagos, you know how broken the system can feel.

Your Naira has to be converted, not once, but twice, often through an intermediary currency like the dollar. Each step adds friction, time, and cost.
And in the end, the person you’re paying still has to wait for confirmation.

It’s not just inconvenient, it’s disheartening. Because it reminds you, that despite being one continent, Africa’s money still doesn’t move freely within Africa.

Hizo’s Simple but Radical Idea for Borderless Payments in Africa

That frustration became the seed for Hizo, a young African startup founded by builders who refused to accept that borders should limit opportunity.

Their vision was simple:

“If I can use my Naira to pay for a meal in Lagos, why can’t I use it to pay for one in Accra or Johannesburg?”

So, they built a platform that lets users spend their own local currency across Africa.
You top up your wallet once, in Naira, and whenever you make a payment, the person on the other side receives value instantly in their own currency.

No dollar dependency. No waiting days for settlement. Just a seamless African-to-African transaction.

“We built Hizo for Africans, by Africans. It’s about restoring confidence in our currencies, in our systems, in ourselves.”
Emmanuel, VP Sales & Marketing, Hizo

The Hard Part No One Sees: Regulation in Cross-Border Payments

The dream was clear, but the journey wasn’t easy.

Africa is home to 54 countries, each with its own payment laws, banking frameworks, and licensing rules. To operate in 10 countries, Hizo had to navigate 10 separate regulatory systems.

“Regulation is our number one challenge. If we can fix that, everything else, cost, speed, forex volatility, starts to fix itself.”
Chiedu Victor, CEO, Hizo

It was more than a technical challenge. It was about trust, building systems that could work across borders without breaking compliance or reliability.

The Turning Point: Partnering with Fincra to Power Borderless Payments in Africa

After months of system outages with their initial provider, Hizo turned to Fincra. The collaboration began and within weeks, Fincra’s team opened new payment corridors powering borderless payments in Africa through a stronger, more reliable infrastructure.

“We pushed for these corridors because our customers needed them, and Fincra delivered. Our use case was Naira-to-Africa, and they made it happen.”
Chiedu Victor

With Fincra’s infrastructure, Hizo could issue wallets, process instant payments, and stay compliant, all while keeping their promise to users: spend freely, anywhere in Africa.

The Human Impact of Borderless Payments

Now, a student from another African country schooling in Accra can pay rent directly in her home currency.

A trader from Ghana can settle a supplier outside of Ghana instantly. A traveler in Johannesburg can order lunch and pay without ever touching a foreign exchange bureau.

Every one of those stories is made possible by a handshake between two African innovators, one building the experience, and one powering the rails beneath it.

Together, they’re proving that Africa’s financial liberation won’t come from outside, but from within, built by those who understand the everyday friction of moving money across the continent.

Why It Matters

For too long, African money has been defined by what it couldn’t do, couldn’t move freely, connect easily, or work across borders without help.

But that’s changing.

Hizo and Fincra are showing that progress doesn’t always start with grand announcements, sometimes it begins quietly, in a product demo, in a single transaction that just works.

Because when a young African can pay for food in Nairobi with another Africa currency, that’s not just a financial innovation. It’s a small act of unity.

The Future: Powering a Truly Borderless Africa

Fincra’s mission has always been to build the rails for an integrated Africa, enabling innovators like Hizo to connect people, currencies, and opportunities.

Each corridor opened, each wallet activated, each cross-border transaction completed, they’re all steps toward a continent where Africans can move, trade, and live without barriers, a future made possible by those powering borderless payments in Africa.

Because integration isn’t just about payments. It’s about possibility. And it’s about Love.

Danielle - Fincra Editorial

Author Danielle - Fincra Editorial

More posts by Danielle - Fincra Editorial

Leave a Reply