Visa and littlefish Team to Help Africa’s MSMEs Go Digital

Visa is teaming with littlefish, an omnichannel platform that helps financial institutions serve small businesses.

The  partnership will support micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) across Africa by streamlining their in-store and online digital experiences, the companies said Thursday (Oct. 17) in a news release provided to PYMNTS.

“Despite the global rise of digital payments, research suggests that the majority of day-to-day transactions in Africa still occur in cash, highlighting a critical need for accessible and efficient digital systems — especially for MSMEs,” the release said. 

“Through this partnership, Visa and littlefish will offer a first-of-its-kind solution to empower banks and financial institutions to drive digital enablement for MSMEs in Africa.”

This solution is a platform that offers merchants payment solutions across traditional point-of-sale (POS) systems, mobile POS, Tap2Phone and eCommerce channels, while providing products and services designed to help merchants streamline their businesses and extend their market reach.

The partnership will also see Visa implement its CyberSource solution for both POS and eCommerce transactions. 

“This will enhance the prospects for value-added services such as secure payment processing, as well as future opportunities for further issuance, remittance flows, lending products and loyalty programs,” the release said. “These offerings ensure that MSMEs can access a comprehensive suite of financial tools to help grow their businesses.”

PYMNTS examined the pressures facing small businesses earlier this week in a conversation with Eliot Buchanan, president of Priority Tech Ventures.

“Small businesses, fundamentally, just want control of their business,” Buchanan told PYMNTS. “Having control over your business is key to survival, and that control is often undermined when you lack visibility into your cash flow.”

From forecasting to managing expenses to invoicing, these entrepreneurs often wrestle with the processes that their bigger rivals have optimized.

This brings about a situation where many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) function without a clear view of their current financial health: No clue to how much cash they have on hand, or perhaps little foresight about when they could run out of money. This lack of clarity creates major operational risks, especially when coupled with the common issue of delayed payments from clients.

“Business owners often get paid late or last,” Buchanan explained, underlining a challenge that further interrupts cash flow predictability.