South Africa’s innovative food delivery platform, Spaza Eats, is gearing up to launch a wallet-as-a-service feature, potentially transforming the app into a mobile money powerhouse. Founder Talifhani Banks revealed on LinkedIn that merchants, customers, and drivers will soon be able to use the Spaza Eats app to send, receive, fund, trade, and manage payments, payouts, and remittances.
Banks, who also founded AnalyticsX, the parent company of Spaza Eats, sees this move as a gateway to the untapped $900 billion mobile money market.
He recently shared on LinkedIn that Spaza Eats’ vision extends beyond being a logistics company. “We want to create a community marketplace and eventually own a merchant bank,” he said.
When asked about plans for a banking license, Banks responded, “Yes, we do not want to just own a logistics company on the side but to grow the marketplace to scale like other international ecommerce platforms. We want to take part in the ecosystem.”
Last October, Spaza Eats received certification to allow customers to save their bank cards on the app.
“We are currently integrating this solution,” Banks told TechFinancials “This will allow our customers to transact easier and facilitate payments for our merchants. That’s a merchant bank. Who knows, we might become a transactional bank called ‘Spaza Pay’ in the future. It’s all about how fast we scale.”
In another bold move, Banks announced the launch of Spaza Eats’ own POS machines, designed for township shops.
“Our Spaza Eats ERP allows shop owners to manage walk-in customers and online orders seamlessly,” he said. Banks also highlighted the importance of data, offering township data purchases through AnalyticsX.
Driven by a passion for community impact, Banks emphasised, “What drives me is the direct impact in our communities. Instead of giving handouts, give people a tool to fish for themselves. I’ve always been about creating a platform for others.”
With a vision to integrate communities using data science and simple technology, Talifhani Banks is not just building a business, he’s building a movement.
Could “Spaza Pay” be the next big thing in South Africa’s financial ecosystem? Only time will tell.
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