Mastercard and Johannesburg-based fintech company SAVA have announced a partnership to support small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) with innovative payments technology and infrastructure.
Through the partnership, the two entities will provide small businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt with an online platform, powered by SAVA’s Payment Transaction System (PTS).
The platform includes digital bank accounts and accounting integration tools, helping them manage their company expenses more efficiently.
MasterCard said in a statement that the collaboration supports and reiterates its financial inclusion pledge to bring 50 million SMMEs worldwide into the digital economy by 2025.
By using advanced technology, SAVA simplifies financial management for SMMEs and helps them scale their business operations. As part of the agreement, the fintech player will provide SMMEs with virtual and physical cards where budgets can be pre-configured and managed via the SAVA app. By integrating the offering with their accounting packages, SAVA’s customers will be able to control and manage spend on their employee cards and save time and money by automating reconciliations.
“At Mastercard, we are dedicated to harnessing the power of partnerships and deploying transformative technology to build a sustainable future where everyone can thrive. ” said Dimitrios Dosis, President, EEMEA, Mastercard.
”Our new collaboration with SAVA represents an important step in our efforts to support small businesses that are key drivers of economic growth. By deploying the right, efficient technology we continue to boost financial inclusion in Africa and enable SMMEs to reap the full benefits of the digital economy,” he added.
In addition to addressing pain points around expense filing and management experienced by SMMEs, SAVA can be used to issue physical cards for shoppers and control spending from a central dashboard, eliminating the need for cash transactions. Moreover, SAVA customers will be able to manage spending across different platforms accessing an array of financial services.
“Our collaboration with Mastercard reflects our credibility, epitomizes the essence of working together to transform pioneering ideas into reality, and underscores our shared commitment to developing innovative solutions tailored to the needs of African markets. We are excited to expand the utilization of this distinctive proposition that empowers SMMEs to manage their financial operations with greater control,” said Kola Olajide, CEO, SAVA.
