PayJoy and Pay@ have partnered to expand access to credit and connectivity in South Africa by combining innovative phone-based credit solutions with seamless, real-time payment services. This strategic collaboration is enabling greater digital inclusion and supporting the country’s growing digital economy.

When PayJoy was founded 10 years ago, few could have anticipated its transformative impact by 2025. Today, the fintech scale-up has empowered over 15 million customers globally across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, by leveraging smartphones as a path to credit access—without relying on traditional financial history.

In countries such as South Africa, poor or non-existing credit histories are big barriers to entry with traditional lenders. Not only does this financially exclude many millions of South Africans but has an impact on their earning potential as well.

PayJoy solved this problem by extending credit to a previously underserved market and helping customers build their credit scores. Apart from this, there is also another critically important economic pathway that PayJoy has built for these customers.

"Traditional lenders often overlook the majority of consumers in emerging markets due to lack of credit history," explains Doug Ricket, PayJoy's CEO. "But by using technology as collateral, we can safely extend credit while helping people build their first credit scores."

Transforming traditional employment

According to a research paper, “PayJoy financing increases customer income by an average of 6%.” This is because today’s smartphones are so much more than a communication device – it creates access to the digital economy.

Known as the gig economy, non-traditional employment is transforming South Africa’s work environments. With over 30% of employed South Africans part of this workforce, broadening access to smartphones can positively contribute to the country’s economy by creating employment opportunities.

A partnership with a difference

Despite its current position, South Africa’s digital economy is estimated to contribute almost 20% of the country’s GDP by 2028. Fintechs will be crucial drivers in realising this for South Africa’s previously underserved customers. Advancements in fintech, digital education, and e-health services will be main drivers of this growth.

To support this shift, PayJoy has partnered with Pay@, one of South Africa’s leading payments solutions providers. By seamlessly integrating Pay@ into PayJoy’s platform, PayJoy customers can ensure uninterrupted mobile connectivity with real-time payments at retailers, spaza shops and shopping malls with Pay@-enabled point-of-sale devices, various secure digital channels, and banking apps. Using a unique reference number assigned to customers, flexible and secure transactions are digitally traceable as online payments are routed to Pay@ payment interfaces.

A win for customers and businesses

What’s more is that this partnership doesn’t just work for customers – businesses benefit too. With a shared commitment and investment from both PayJoy and Pay@, a 24/7 platform availability has been maintained at a near-zero failure rate.

And the numbers speak for themselves. Since the launch of the partnership, transaction volumes have been consistently growing – increasing by 127.4% compared to last year.  

A fintech-driven future

Statistics such as these clearly underline the importance of digital transformation and financial inclusion for our country’s future.

Collaborations between transformative fintech companies such PayJoy and Pay@ can usher in a new digital economy era for an emerging country such as South Africa, which is currently struggling with significant unemployment numbers.

Highly accessible, reliable, and inclusive fintech technology provides so much more than a long-term solution for money management – it opens a door for many South Africans to enter the modern financial system and start their journey to economic freedom, without the burden of debt traps.

Together, PayJoy and Pay@ are opening the door to a more connected, inclusive, and prosperous future - one step, one smartphone, and one payment at a time.